Gail found herself fixated on Chris, who was sitting across the room from her, knees pulled up, tucked close to his chest, head down. He looked like hell, beaten down, sorrow soaked, his voice choked like silent screaming in this nightmare he found himself in.

The whole operation fell apart in a matter of minutes, they were both taken together, led along a dark hallway and down narrow stairs to a different part of the house, Gail thinks on the southwest corner but she could not be sure. It seemed like they had been there forever just waiting, she began to lose track of time. There was no confrontation, no ruckus of words, threats or blows, nothing other than the glass that sailed across the room courtesy of Sal. After that it was all understood, Catherine was useless to him now, as was Chris. They had to find a way out.

"Chris."

The cop remained as he was; the stillness spoke volumes as he would not or could not manage to respond.

"Chris, look at me."

Several moments passed until his head would make the slightest tilt toward her, hollow brown bloodshot eyes, from the drugs, the tears or both cut right through Gail.

"I am sorry."

His eyes shifted back, away from her, away from her pity and benevolence that he knew he did not deserve.

It was an eerie quiet, one that Gail did not particularly enjoy, though she sat with him in it for as long as she could before speaking.

"Remember when that perp puked in my squad car and we thought I was infected with some contagious face eating virus?"

Silence remained so she continues, "in the end you didn't care if you caught the virus from me, you barged right in that room they had me quarantined in because you knew I needed you."

Chris finally speaks barely audible in his, "You were so scared, even though you were trying to be tough…and bossy."

"I was… terrified."

Chris runs both hands over his face, rubbing his pounding temples, finally resting on his unshaven face, "I have fucked up in such a royal way, Gail."

"As always, an overachiever, Diaz."

The slightest of smiles makes an attempt to spread across his face, "How can you not hate me right now, we might die."

Pulling at a loose frayed thread on her jacket, "Because you need me, but let's get this straight, I am pretty fucking mad at you right now."

Chris exhales a long breath that he has been holding for what seems like years, "I am an addict, Gail. I can't stop."

The tears begin falling down his weary face and Gail can feel the stinging sensation of the shame seeping from him as he finally admits what he has probably been denying to himself for months now.

She does the unfamiliar, perhaps something the old Gail would never dream of doing. If Holly has shown the cop anything in their short time together it is that moments of true kindness are in fact worth it.

The blonde pulls Chris into a hug and lets him fall apart, his tears soak the fabric of her shirt, and she is hopeful in the moment they share, at this place that holds very little hope for them, he will arrive at his rock bottom.

"Gail if something happens to you I will never forgive myself."

Smacking him lightly on the head, "If something happens to me dork, you will have bigger problems, Holly will kick your ass!"

"Who?"

"While you have been frolicking in your drug induced escapades, I am dating a chick now; she is amazing, kind, super-duper smart and smoking hot."

"Oh. Well, okay." He is taken aback by the glow on Gail's face at the mention of this woman's name, "I am sure she is great. Hey, I don't need anyone else mad at me Gail so let's try to get the hell out of here in one piece."

Gail begins to pace around the room, "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"I actually think we are in the room next to wine cellar. "

Gail can't hold back her laughter, "Well clearly they know us pretty well; I could use a drink right about now." surveying the room more closely.

"Listen I think that our biggest chance of getting out of here is to make them suspect that we are not on the same side. You still want work for Sal and will throw me under the bus and do anything it takes to prove your loyalty does not lie with me. If we are together we are pretty much powerless."

"Gail that is an awful idea, I will always have your back."

"Chris, save it for the Hallmark channel. Hey do you remember the sign language I taught you?"

"Um, yeah."

"Let's go through the alphabet together, just to make sure."

The two have an impromptu competition to see who can get through the letters the quickest, and Gail is impressed that Chris remembered them flawlessly.

"If we need to communicate then sign it, below the waist if you can. Otherwise we have nothing nice to say to each other."

Luke, Sam, Oliver and Traci have gathered back at the station already making the connection between Sal and Chris after surveillance footage surfaced of Joe meeting up with Chris in the same hotel bar Gail was at days earlier. That partnered with the fact Chris had not reported for parade in three days left little doubt that Chris was with Sal, Joe and Gail. Painstakingly they waited for the warrant to search Sal's property; it could not come soon enough, Sam is irate at himself for not putting the warrant request in sooner. Friday afternoons were hit or miss and the team is hoping there is a judge around that has not left early to start the weekend.

Traci excuses herself to make the call she is dreading. Already past the projected timeline, Traci is not looking forward to being the one who will deliver the news that Gail is not coming back yet.

"Hey Holly, it's Traci."

"Hi Traci, is she coming back today?"

"We are not sure, but I want you to know that we are doing everything we can to get this op over and everyone back safe and sound. Things just are going a bit slower than we expected. I promise I will let you know it anything changes, k?"

Holly's heart sunk straight to the bottom of the wading pool of hopeful she was desperately trying to stay afloat in despite all the worry and awful speculation swirling around like unraftable rapids in her mind.

"Okay. Thank you Traci, please call me if you hear anything at all."

"I promise I will."

The door flung open with such force there was no time to react before Gail and Chris saw Joe stumbling toward them covered in blood waiving his gun around and pleading for help.

"You have to help me, we have to go now. NOW!" he is pushing Gail and Chris toward the door.

Gail boldly stops, turning to face Joe, "Wait! What the fuck happened?"

Wiping away blood that had splattered across his cheek, "They are dead."

Gail's wide eyes are in disbelief, "Who exactly is 'they'?"

He begins shaking, "Jimmy, Marco, Eddie …" he takes a deep breath, two steps to his left and pukes in the corner, "…and Sal. I killed Sal."

"What is it with me and all the puke on this job? I might as well teach kindergarten." Gail backs away from the vile puddle spreading on the floor.

"I just snapped, I don't know what happened. Oh, god. Oh my fucking god! I can't leave you two here, I mean I could but they will kill you."

Chris leans his forehead against the wall, "Who?"

"Diaz, you know who, Sal's brother, nephew and the rest of his personal mafia. They will kill us and then have a picnic next to the bodies. We have to get out of here."

"Where the hell are we supposed to go, Joe?" Gail blurts out.

"Just start walking, out the back into the green wooded space; I don't know what else to do!"

Sam led the way with warrant in hand as all units sped past the tree lined paths on their way to Bridal Path an affluent part of Toronto where the houses are colossal surrounded by vast acres of green space backing up to woods. A brigade of cars file into the driveway, and soon there is systematic chaos all around as officer's patiently wait to be given the all clear to enter the residence which seems like it is taking an eternity.

Sam's voice finally comes over the radio, "We have four confirmed dead." Traci places a hand on the hood of the squad car in front of her bracing for the words that will soon follow. "No sign of Peck or Diaz, I repeat Officers Peck and Diaz are not inside."

Traci takes the news as a win, though the idea of them gone does not bode well either and she knows it. Sam, Luke and Oliver eventually gather around an unmarked cruiser discussing their next move, trying to piece together a timeline and figure out some sort of rational theory that makes sense of what has happened.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Traci catches a familiar image walking toward the house; her eyes finally focus enough to confirm her fear. Holly was on scene to deal with the dead bodies. Traci tried to convince herself that maybe no one would say anything inside, by some miracle she would be so engrossed with the bodies that she would do her work go back to the lab and Traci could call her later and give her a more sugar coated version of things. As the internal discussion raged on in her head, Traci is yanked back into reality by a raging litany of words.

"You lost her? Are you fucking kidding me?" Holly is stomping toward the whole group with unapologetic fury under her feet.

Sam watches the forensic pathologist coming straight toward him and she does not look happy. Assuming someone compromised her crime scene he braces for what is about to come his way and is ready to apologize if need be.

"How in the hell do you lose someone when you are supposed to know exactly where they are?"

"Doctor Stewart, they are dead. They didn't go anywhere."

Dropping her bag on the ground, continuing toward Sam, "I am not talking about the bodies!" Holly is now waving her hands in a feverish display, "I am talking about Gail, tell me she is not dead."

The detective just stands there with his eyebrows raised, completely and utterly speechless as to what to say next. Traci steps between them, "Hey Holly, c'mon let's go over here and talk for moment, k?"

She follows closely behind the female detective, "I am so mad Traci, and worse I am terrified for Gail. What the hell happened? And do not tell me that you can't give me details."

"Everything was supposed to go down at the hotel, we didn't anticipate this, that they would bring her here, and we regrouped but obviously things went a little off the track."

"…a little off track?"

"Holly, this is part of the work, it happens. It's very dangerous and what I can tell you is that we will do everything to make sure Gail is safe. I promise to continue keeping you in the loop; I will call you even if there is no work in a few hours. Gail is a very good cop, and she excels in these situations, if there is a way to get out, she will find it."

Rubbing her temples, "That does nothing to ease my fears; I just gave the okay to bag up three very tough looking men who had their brains blown out. I am going to the morgue, please; please call me when you hear anything."

"I will call even if I don't hear anything, just to check in."

The doctor raises her hand in a small wave as she walked away from Traci on her way back inside the house to deal with three dead men who she can only assume were the last ones to see Gail before she left.

Gail was exhausted; they spent most of the night hiding out in the thick brush of the woods that backed up along the exclusive stretch of estates. Joe was a mess; he knew what he had done and the reality of his situation.

"If I can get you guys back unharmed, do you think I could make a deal with the D.A?"

Gail stretches her aching body, bending over to touch her toes and walking herself backward into downward dog, "I think the fact that you have helped two police officers escape from Sal's house, will speak volumes that your intent was not to just go on a rampage to blow people away. You have not threatened us, and to be honest without you we would have probably tried to just run out the front door not thinking that Sal's people were everywhere.

"It's pretty unreal; his entourage permeates this whole area, he probably owns more than half the houses in this gated community, family, friends, his staff everyone lives close to him. He is generous in so many ways, but there is a price."

Chris looks up from vigorously biting at his nails, "…was. He was generous."

Gail notices Chris fidgeting, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I am fine.", as he spits a piece of bitten off nail to the ground.

Joe gives him the once over, noticing the sweat seeping through his blue cotton shirt, "When was the last time you used?"

"Before I came down to breakfast and saw Gail." wiping the beads of sweat that have formed on his upper lip.

Walking over to the clearing just outside the tree line they are tucked away in, Joe points to an embankment then a very big hill, "other side of that monster is a strip mall; the sun is just now getting ready to peek its head up so now might be as good of time as any to make a run for it."

Gail stomps off in the direction of Joe's outstretched arm, "By god there better be a Starbucks on the other side of that mountain."

Holly sat at her desk, spinning the phone that lie in front of her with one finger, round and round on the beveled glass that covers her workspace. Traci called her late last night, no sign of Gail but they were hopeful something would come to fruition today. On a small silver hook opposite her desk, the new deep red dress she had purchased for the awards dinner tonight hung on the back of her office door. She was being honored as part of a selected group of distinguished doctors that had made a difference in their fields. While Holly has just started her new position, past years of presenting her research, and writing articles for various esteemed outlets had won her the accolades. She really hated this kind of thing, the attention, the crowds and the political games that came along with people pushing their way forward by viciously trouncing over each other to get to that coveted next level. The only thing that made this event different than the others was Gail, the thought of exchanging knowing glances, wanting stares and making each other laugh despite the absurdity of high class entitlement and power that was sure to stink up the room would have been kind of lovely. Holly said it out loud the words tasting metallic and septic rolling from her tongue, "You will get through tonight just fine without Gail being there. She is fine. She is fine. She is fine."

It took just over 4 hours for them to hike over the mountainous hill that looked much closer from where they stood in the woods that morning. Only one close call and Gail managed to get everyone out of view before they were spotted. Joe was correct on the other side they found a small strip mall with a dry cleaners, Indian restaurant and check cashing place sandwiched between two very questionable looking pawn shops on either end. Salvation arrived in the form of asking to use a phone as the delicious scent of saag paneer and warm garlic nan roamed freely all around the room.

Gail now found herself sitting on a hard, uneven aluminum chair in a debriefing room with Sam, Traci and a couple of guys from the drug enforcement division for Ontario. She went over everything for hours with them, what she saw and heard, who played what role each step along the way. She talked until she was hoarse, even after drinking 5 or 6 bottled waters, as she drained each one they just kept reappearing. Chris would likely be formally charged at the hospital but taken to a rehab facility if he accepted the terms, Gail prayed he would. Telling herself she will do whatever she could to support him, hell they all would but he had made some very bad choices and those choices would have consequences. Joe was in protective custody; Gail was honest about Joe and credited him with more than likely saving their lives. Just like Chris, he got involved in something that spiraled out of control until the only way out would shake his life to the core.

Gail was free to go, Sam was adamant about a security detail for her safety, which she finally agreed to but warned him that they better not so much as sneeze too loud around her, she did not want to know they existed.

The hot water pounded down on the cop absolving her weary body from the last five days of hell, letting all the craziness gently pool around her feet before swirling down the drain, grateful to feel a bit more settled in freshly scrubbed skin. Gail takes a deep breath finally letting the thought of Holly surge through her, heart racing as she thinks of her touch, her voice, and her intoxicating scent even if only for a moment in her mind.

The jazz band was in full swing, people happily danced as festive colored lights frolicked along the walls and ceiling. Holly was speaking to colleagues, mid-sentence as the words trailed off fading away into nothingness as she took one step forward, then another until she was practically running across the make shift dance floor to reach her destination on the other side of the room. There stood Gail Peck in her formal police uniform, stunningly beautiful and alive, she was very much alive as Holly bounded toward her practically knocking the blonde over as arms wrapped themselves tightly around this place that felt like home. Holly kissed each side of the cop's cheeks, each of her eyes gently then the tip of her nose before finally coming to rest on the mouth she has thought of so many times over the past week. Gail smiled through the passionate kisses as tongues and lips reaffirm what their time apart could not diminish.

Thank you for all the excellent comments and suggestions, please keep them coming! I really appreciate it! xx