A/N: Okay so I finally spat something out, and I'm just going to post it before I regret it.
I hate most of this chapter with a passion - so no hard feelings if any of you feel the same.
Thank you for all the insanely kind comments, all the follows and kudos, and the super nice people who have sent tumblr messages.
Hopefully this doesn't turn any of you of the story.
Ignoring her better instincts Holly grabbed her phone again as she stopped at the lights on the way to the hospital, checking for a reply from Gail. Her heart was racing, but not in a sexy way, not like last night - in an unpleasant, uneasy, semi-nauseas way. She found a new text and quickly opened it, glancing back and forth between her mobile and the lights to make sure they didn't turn green again without her noticing. The last thing Gail needed right now was for her to end up in the hospital as well.
Calm down CNN - just a burn. I'm on level three, going thru the painful process of discharge. Too many forms.
Holly's brow crinkled as she read the text - a thousand thoughts rushing through her head at once - and she wrote back a typo littered reply and hit send before dropping the mobile back into the console. Trust Gail to be so flippant, but at least it wasn't something drastic like a bullet wound - her worst fear when it came to the cop.
I'l b tehre as soon as posible - CNN?
When she pulled up outside of the hospital, leaving the car in what was not technically a parking spot but was close to the exit, she grabbed her phone and her keys and hurried out of the car. Her palms were sweaty, and the mobile slipped in her grip, fumbling it, before shoving it into her coat pocket. She pulled it out once she'd reached the elevator and leaned back against the wall. When she took the phone back out she saw Gail's reply, and found herself smiling stupidly at the blonde's answer.
Cute Neurotic Nerd. ie you.
She was still smiling when she walked through the doors into the wing, her shoes echoing with each step on the clean linoleum floor, and she caught sight of the other woman, still dressed in her police uniform, stray strands of hair sticking out from her usually neat, pulled back work do. She felt her heart race at the sight, and then calm again, upon seeing her, seeing that she was safe. Gail was speaking to another officer, so Holly held back, leaning against the reception counter, watching, trying not to beam at finally getting to lay eyes on the blonde again, the first time since that morning, when she had opened her eyes and watched Gail's naked form retreating into the bathroom, dim light from the hall falling across her skin, a small shadow cast by the gentle curve of her spine, the dip at the base where her ass began. She bit her lip and let the mental image fade, concentrating on her lungs filling with air and slowly exhaling again, the breath pushing past her lips as Gail caught sight of her and began to make her way over. She smiled as the blonde walked towards her.
"Hey," the word came out softer than she meant it to, barely a whisper. The other woman came closer, and Holly could see stress and tiredness and something else around her eyes.
"Hey," Gail replied, her voice had that same tone it had the day that Chris' son was missing, I kind of heaviness to it, a raw and delicate quality, "let's get out of here." Holly felt herself biting down on her bottom lip and nodding quickly. She resisted the urge to take the other woman's hand, vaguely aware that the other officer was standing just metres away still. Instead she walked closely beside her, so that her elbow could just gentle graze Gail's uniform sleeve as they moved towards the exit.
"I was so worried about you," she found herself admitting as they waited for the elevator, and the blonde looked across at her, blue eyes so wide and vulnerable that a protective instinct inside her chest began to burst forth, and she wanted to pull the other woman into her arms, but new it wasn't the place. A small smile tugged around the corners of Gail's mouth.
"I kind of like that," she replied, voice still that same consistency, almost worrying but for the fact that Holly new the burn and the whole experience must have taken their toll. She smiled back at the other woman softly, wanting so much to reach up and brush that strand of blonde hair away from Gail's face. Her fingers twitched and she shoved them deep into her coat pockets as the elevator finally opened and they stepped inside. The lift was empty. She pressed the ground button and stood next to the blonde in the centre of the space as the metal doors closed behind them. After a second she felt warm chapped lips press against her cheek, sending scarlet spreading across her face like a wildfire, and when the contact ended she turned across to eye Gail where she stood. The officer grinned at her cheekily.
"You're still on pain meds, huh?" Holly shook her head, but couldn't stop herself from smiling, ear to ear, the kind of smile that makes you cheeks ache, but you don't care at all. Gail laughed, but nodded.
"Just took a new dose before I left," she informed Holly smugly, "you're going to have a fun night." The brunette raised her eyebrows, seeing the perfect opportunity to make the blonde squirm. She was so cute when she did so.
"Night? I thought I was just giving you a lift home?" she replied, doing her best faux confused face. Although her acting was reasonably mediocre (she had been forced to play Lady Macbeth in high school, probably one of her worst embarrassing moments to date), Gail fell for the act hook line and sinker. It crossed Holly's mind, just for a moment, as the blonde's expression fell, that this was possibly something to do with the adorable blonde's self-esteem levels when it came to relationships, especially considering her last one. She felt horribly guilty.
"Gail, I'm kidding, of course I'm staying with you the night," she quickly backtracked, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose nervously with one finger. Her breath frosted the edge of the glass slightly, alerting her to how heavily she was suddenly breathing. Gail's expression moulded back into one of mild irritation and she rolled her eyes, elbowing the brunette playfully in the side.
"More like I'm letting you stay with me," she replied aloofly as the elevators doors opened again and she stepped out first, leading the way, before she realised she didn't know where she was leading the way too, and had to stop and wait for Holly to catch up.
When they reached the car there was a small red piece of paper tucked under Holly's windshield wipers. Parking ticket. She should have known better, but in all honesty at the time she just hadn't really cared. She glanced across at Gail, hoping the other woman hadn't noticed, as she led her around to the passenger side and opened the door for her, ignoring the blonde's mumbles of 'capable, can open a door myself, it's not a full body burn, it was only one hand' as she helped her in. As she walked back around she leant over and snatched the piece of paper off of the windscreen, shoving it into her pocket, and then climbed into the driver's seat, putting the keys in the ignition.
"Give it to me, Hols," the blonde told her as the engine started up. Holly batted her lashes, faking naivety, as she began to reverse out into the car park.
"Give you what?" a mildly sly, suggestive tone seeped into her voice as she replied, against her better judgement, but she grinned to herself when she saw Gail's blushing cheeks in the rearview mirror. The blonde's face flushed for a second with embarrassment, and then settled back into a glare directed at the side of the brunette's head as she checked her side mirror.
"The ticket, lunchbox, I'll sort it out for you," she continued to insist, ignoring the pathologist's teasing. Holly just laughed and continued driving, leaving the ticket firmly smushed down into the corner of her coat pocket.
"You're still on drugs, you aren't sorting anything out until at least tomorrow," she replied in amusement. She turned down a street to the left and the blonde next to her quickly piped up.
"No no, no no no, not my place, can I stay at yours?" Gail asked, biting down on her bottom lip. Holly smiled softly and nodded, making a mental note to take the next right turn. She was kind of glad, in a way, that she got the blonde all to herself.
"Of course," she answered gently, and then couldn't resist adding, "You just don't want your friends around while I'm playing nurse, right?" Gail laughed loudly.
"Do you have an outfit?" this was toeing the line for Gail, who had an endless supply of biting remarks always waiting on the tip of her tongue, but very few flirtatious, sexual remarks ready when it came to Holly. The brunette ran her tongue over her bottom lip before replying.
"Sorry to disappoint, but no." She turned right, back in the direction of her own apartment, and tried to concentrate on getting them home safely in the car, and not getting distracted by thought of Gail, in outfits….
"That's alright, these drugs seem to make me hallucinate, I'll just imagine it." Holly shook her head and took a deep breath. That really didn't help Gail.