Ta-da! I hope you enjoy another chapter. More of the Stewarts. More of Gail being ridiculously gay. Featuring Gail's new best friend Ripley. As always, comments are very much loved and appreciated but not manditory.

I like adding small bits of Holly to the story. And just in case any of you missed it I did go back and add a small piece of Holly to the beginning of Chapter 5 that I had already written but not posted. Thanks and I hope everyone has a lovely day.

While waiting for her father to finish up the last bit of dinner, Holly decided to wander toward her mother's office and see if she was off the phone. She was really anxious about Gail and her mom meeting and really wanted to talk to her mom before hand. The door to her mom's office was cracked open and Holly pushed it open a little to stick her head in. Her mother's desk faced the door and Holly could see that she wasn't holding her phone but knew she could always be on speaker. So, she slid quietly into the room and waited for her mom to notice her standing there.

"Holly!" said her mom joyously when she looked up. She immediately hopped out of her seat and headed over to Holly with open arms. Holly smiled and met her half way. "How was the drive sweetie? It's supposed to snow pretty bad tonight I was worried you'd leave too late."

"No, we managed to leave pretty early," said Holly.

"We? Your friend said yes? That's fantastic. I know how worried you were about her being alone for the holidays."

"So, I'm guessing you haven't checked your personal?" asked Holly. If her mom was busy with work she rarely looked at her personal phone so she probably didn't see her text about Gail coming with her.

"Not yet. Why?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about Gail before you met her," said Holly. Her mom furrowed her brows and looked rather worried for a minute. "Nothing bad. She just, doesn't really like people touching her."

"Ah," said her mom as relief washed over her face. She patted Holly on the cheek and smiled. "Good to know. I wouldn't want to chase your friend away."

"I don't think you'd chase her away," said Holly with a small laugh. "I just don't want her to be uncomfortable."

Holly wanted Gail to like being at her house and she was just really worried that her family was a little too 1950's television wholesome for Gail to be completely comfortable. She also really didn't want Gail to think she was rubbing her happy family in her face. To be honest, she wanted Gail to feel welcome and like maybe she belonged. If Lisa heard what Holly was thinking she'd probably scrunch up her face and say "that's gay, Hols."

"Gotcha. Now," said her mom as she patted Holly's arm and opened the study door. "Introduce us. You never bring people over, I'm so excited."

Holly swallowed hard and followed her mom out of the study.

Gail sat on the sofa in the living room with her knees pulled up to her chest and wiggled Ripley's ears back and forth as she scratched behind them. The shepherd was resting her head on Gail's knees and staring at her. Ever since Holly had gotten up and patted the sofa for Ripley to sit next to Gail the big dog had been trying to lick Gail's face like it was the only thing she'd ever wanted in her entire dog life. So, Gail had made herself into a ball and started petting Ripley to keep the slobber monster at bay. Lady on the other hand was being a good beastie and laying next to Mark's feet.

"Who named her Ripley?"

"Holly," said Mark. "She was really into the Alien movies when we found Ripley five years ago. She was the sole survivor of an abandoned litter. Holly thought the name was appropriate."

Gail smiled slightly, though she was sure only Ripley could see it. Holly was such a nerd.

"And what about Lady?"

"Lady is mine," answered Mark. "I honestly just couldn't think of a name and Holly was watching Lady and the Tramp when dad brought her home."

"You know," said April as she looked up from her phone over at Gail and smiled. "They say that dogs tend to be a lot like their owners. I guess it's no surprise Ripley likes you so much."

Gail glanced at April before looking back at Ripley's dopey, adorable face.

"Ripley is Holly's?" asked Gail as she continued to watch the dog's face, so full of bliss at being paid so much attention.

"Oh yeah," said April and Mark at once. They both laughed when they realized they'd said it at the same time. Gail raised an eyebrow as she glanced at them.

"Ripley is really well trained," said April.

"So long as Holly is the one giving the commands," added Mark. "Otherwise she's the biggest asshole."

"I choose to think of it as loyalty," said Holly as she walked into the living room. She grabbed a pillow from the sofa Gail was on and tossed it at her brother's head. "Ripley, down."

Ripley immediately jumped off the couch and laid down on the floor next to Gail. Holly didn't move though and instead sort of shuffled her weight between her feet. Then an older woman Gail immediately pegged as Holly's mom rounded the corner and Gail practically jumped to her feet. She didn't really process the questioning looks from April and Mark as she was busy watching this woman move around the couch towards her. For half a second, Gail tensed her body as she expected a hug but was relieved when their mother outstretched her hand.

"Hello Gail, I'm Patty," said Holly's mom as Gail offered her hand and Patty took hold of it with a firm grip. She was much shorter than Holly and April but looked almost like what Gail would picture an older Holly would look like. "I'm so glad you came. I'd hate for anyone to be alone during any school break let alone one that involves a holiday like Christmas. Wait, do you celebrate Christmas? I don't think I ever asked Holly if you did."

"Yes, ma'am," said Gail as she put her hands in her pockets.

"Oh, dear no need for such formalities," said Patty. She patted Gail on the arm.

Gail glanced over at Holly who was biting her bottom lip but she smiled when she noticed Gail looking at her. Gail could tell Holly had been really nervous about introducing her mother and it had honestly made Gail really anxious. Add on to that the fact that Holly was a bundle of nerves before finals and the way she threw herself into her studies, Gail was actually worried she was about to meet an Elaine doppelganger. But after meeting Holly's family Gail was fairly certain Holly was just nervous about Gail liking her family.

"Alright now kids, I'm going to go check on your father because I don't know about you but I'm starving," said Patty as she headed back towards the kitchen.

Gail plopped back down on the sofa and resumed petting Ripley. The weight of the world felt like it was lifted from her shoulders. Holly's mom was just as ridiculously nice as the rest of her family. That was a much better outcome than what she was expecting. Holly sat down next to her and lightly tapped Gail's hand as a sign to move it.

"Watch this," said Holly as she held up her hand in a high five motion. Ripley immediately sat back on her hind legs and put one of her paws against Holly's hand. "Took two months to get her to do that without treats."

Gail smiled and resumed petting the shepherd when she put her head back on Gail's knees.

'Wow, traitor," said Holly to Ripley as she scratched behind her ear.

Ripley, seeing that Holly was paying attention to her, immediately jumped up onto Holly's lap and licked her face before lying across Holly's lap to put her head back on Gail's legs. Gail smiled and soaked up the attention. She loved animals much more than people. Except maybe Holly. As Gail focused on scratching behind Ripley's ear she moved her other hand to rest on the couch between herself and Holly but froze for a second when she realized that Holly's hand was already there. Taking a deep breath she waited to see if Holly would move her hand but when she didn't Gail moved her fingers along the skin of Holly's hand and between Holly's fingers. After a moment Holly's fingers closed around hers and Gail let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"So Gail, what are you studying?" asked Mark.

"Criminal Justice," said Gail. She was thankful of years of suppressing her emotions otherwise the way her heart was thundering in her chest would definitely have made talking terrible. "After I finish my associates I'll basically be going to straight to the academy."

"The academy?" Mark tilted his head in a very Holly-esque fashion.

"The Toronto Police College," said Gail.

"You don't need a degree to join do you?" asked April.

"No. I could have just gone straight to the academy but…" Gail shrugged and shook her head. "I'm basically stalling."

"If you don't want to be a cop then why join?" asked Mark.

Gail really didn't like all the focus on her or her future. Though, the way Holly's thumb lightly ran along her finger was really helping to keep her emotions distracted enough to keep her talking. It also kept her from thinking too much about the fact that a cop was nothing compared to what Holly was going to be or what Holly's mom was.

"I want to be an officer," said Gail. "I just want to do it at my own pace."

"That makes sense," said Mark with a nod.

"Alright kids," said Patty as she entered the room. "Dinner is finally ready."

"Hey, don't say it like that," said Ben from the other room. "I thought Holly was going to be later."

As Holly got Ripley to get up so they could move, Gail and Holly's hands untangled and Gail almost immediately missed the contact. She followed Holly into a very nice dining room she hadn't paid much attention to before. A very beautiful wooden table sat in the middle covered in a table cloth decorated by christmas lights. Holly held out a chair for Gail with a smile before sitting in the seat next to her.

When the Peck's sat down to Christmas dinner the previous year it was tense and ended in Gail storming out and crashing her car into a snow covered ditch. That was when her parents took her car away and told her she'd have to work for another one. Then her mother tried to bribe her into joining the academy right out of high school by offering to buy her a new one. It took her parents getting into an argument for Elaine to finally agree to let Gail go to college in the fall.

Dinner with the Stewarts, even if it wasn't Christmas yet, was as different from that as Gail could imagine without picturing unicorns. It was the most ridiculously wholesome experience of her life. Ben and Patty asked their kids questions about school and work. April was a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Toronto and her fiance, Joey, was apparently driving up in a couple of days to join them after visiting his own parents first. Mark was in school for engineering in Ottawa. And then there was Holly. She apparently had the highest GPA of her graduating class and was set to be valedictorian because her mother asked if she knew what she wanted to talk about in her speech. Holly just shrugged and said she was thinking about plagiarizing it.

Gail had never felt more in awe of a person than she did of Holly. She couldn't help but smile as she listened to Holly make smartass remarks about quoting children's books and episodes of Forensic Files while her family laughed. A smartass remark at a Peck dinner ended with looks of disappointment or arguments. Gail couldn't decide if she wanted to never leave or immediately run for the hills.

"Gail," said Ben as he turned the attention of the table to their newest member. "Holly told me you want to be a police officer. Being a public servant is hard work. Do you think you'll be ready for it?"

"I was basically raised for it," said Gail.

"What do you mean?" asked Ben.

Gail wasn't a fan of the way everyone's attention was on her but she swallowed that feeling down.

"My parents are both on the force. So is my brother," said Gail. "I wouldn't be shocked if he made detective in a year or two more."

"Ah, so it's a family profession," said Patty. "That's amazing. And it's what you want to do too?"

"Yeah. I couldn't imagine doing anything else," said Gail. It amazed her that she was being so honest with the Stewarts. "I mean, when I was younger I thought about being a pirate. But I was informed that it's not a real job and there's no health benefits."

"You gotta have health benefits," said Ben with a laugh.

Gail glanced at Holly who was smiling at her and she smiled back. As she went back to finishing the amazing food on the plate in front of her there was a moment where she felt Holly's hand give her knee a light squeeze and her heart skipped. Before Holly could pull her hand away, Gail reached out and held it in place.

The rest of dinner could have literally passed in a blur for all Gail knew because all she could think about was Holly. By the time April got up to call Joey and Mark started helping Ben pick up the dishes, Gail was completely exhausted socially. She was glad they mostly let her quietly listen to them talk because Gail still wasn't sure how much of her sarcastic comments would have been welcome even among their own. When Patty got up and headed towards Holly, Gail finally let go of her hand under the table and it fell back to Holly's side. Patty kissed her daughter's forehead and patted Gail on the shoulder as she wished them goodnight before heading toward the kitchen.

"Come on, I'll show you where the guest room is," said Holly after stacking her dishes on top of Gail's. Ripley, who Gail hadn't noticed was sitting on Holly's feet, pranced out from under the table and Gail had a strong feeling Holly had slipped her food throughout dinner.

Following Ripley and Holly up the stairs, Gail was led up to a landing that seemed to double as an entertainment room. A large television sat on a shelf above a fireplace. It had some game systems hooked up to it and a pair of recliners sat positioned in front of it and years of toys, both kids and dogs, seemed to be stacked as neatly as possible into cubby like shelves along the walls. Along the wall toward the side of the house were the doors to Holly's room and the guest room while the opposite wall held doors to Mark and April's rooms. In the space opposite of the entertainment area was the door to Holly's parents' room. As Holly flipped on the light to the guest room, Gail smirked.

"How come every family's guest room looks the same?" asked Gail in an attempt to calm her nerves. "What person said, a four post bed, one nightstand, one dresser, and a small tv? And who agreed with him?"

"I'm guessing you have a similar guest room?" laughed Holly.

Gail nodded as she walked toward the bed with her suitcase sitting on it. Ripley jumped up on the bed and sniffed at it while Holly shut the door.

"I'm pretty sure we have that same ugly floral pattern comforter too," said Gail.

"What if I said that was my dead grandmother's?" asked Holly with a serious look.

Gail froze.

"Is it?"

"No," said Holly as she shook her head and the one corner of her lips curled up into her beautiful lopsided grin. "Pretty sure we got it on clearance from Target."

Gail rolled her eyes as she turned and watched Ripley paw at her bag. Out of the corner of her eyes she caught Holly moving toward her and she turned to watch her as her heart jumped into her throat. Just a few inches away from her Holly paused and Gail was fairly certain Holly's eyes flickered to Gail's lips before jumping up to her hair. Holly reached up and ran her fingers through it, a gesture Gail was fairly certain was slowly killing her every time she did it because of the way her heart would stop.

"Do you want to grow your hair back out?," asked Holly as she licked her lips. "Otherwise I can cut it while you're here. Or I could even get…"

Wrapping her fingers around the front of Holly's sweater, Gail pulled Holly into her, their lips thankfully meeting before the rest of their bodies crashed into each other. Holly's fingers found purchase in Gail's hair while Gail moved her hands to Holly's hips. Just as Gail teased Holly's mouth open a loud knock on the door made both of them jump apart. Gail was able to sit on the bed right when the door opened and Holly shoved her hands in the pockets on her sweatshirt. They were both terrible actors.

"Hey, Hols, mom wants us to go get firewood from the shed for tonight…" April trailed off as she looked between the two of them. Her eyes narrowed but she kept smiling. Gail knew she knew. "It's supposed to be really cold and dad says the guy won't be out to finish fixing the heater until Friday. Although maybe the two of you have that…"

"Gail, I'll be back in a bit," shouted Holly suddenly as she rushed to the door and pushed her sister out of it. Holly smiled nervously as she looked at Gail before shutting the door. Gail chuckled as she heard Holly's voice clearly though the door before she heard them heading down the stairs. "I'm going to kill you and I'm going to get away with it."

Gail took a deep breath and looked over a Ripley who she realized had managed to find the bag of turkey jerky she'd shoved into her suitcase before she left her house. She pulled the bag out of the dog's grasp and pulled out a piece of jerky and gave it to her before sighing heavily.

"Ripley," said Gail as she patted the dog on the head. "I'm really gay."