AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I've been sitting on a rough draft of the final chapters of this story for ages. It's funny when and how inspiration strikes...

I hope you've all had happy holidays and wish you a happy new year!

She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts one last time before she rounded the final corner to her mother's office. She just came from seeing her father. The conversation went well – as expected – and should have boosted her morale, seeing as he promised her that everything would be alright, and that, if worse came to worst, he would of course help her handle her mother. Still, in this very moment, that didn't help at all. She still had to face Elaine. She had to face her alone. And God knows what she would have to say.

"Hello, mother." She greeted her, accompanied by a knock.

"Gail! What a surprise to see you here!" Her mother got out of the chair in order to greet Gail. Other mothers might have hugged their daughter, kissed them on the cheek. Elaine Peck made sure that Gail's cowlick was in the right place.

"Didn't Barbara tell you I was coming?" Of course Gail knew better than to not follow the rules of workplace etiquette. Not that Elaine had no heart – of course she would see her kids without an appointment. But she would have dropped a comment about it, that Gail couldn't just presume to come and go as she pleases because of the Peck name or something along those lines, and Gail wanted to provide her mother with as little target as possible.

"Oh yes, she did, dear. You're not in uniform?" She went back to sit in the chair behind her desk, motioning for Gail to sit down in one of the visitor chairs. Gail approached but stood behind one of them, boring her fingers into the backrest nervously. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, had practiced her speech in her head several times. She was determined and this was far too important to back down. But this was still Elaine Peck she was faced with, so she was seriously hoping that her resolve would hold until the end of their conversation.

"No I'm not. This is not about the job. It's actually a private matter. And before you start, yes, I would have liked to have this conversation in a private setting, but since you have neither answered my calls nor called back, and after I had to find out from Steve that apparently you are rather busy with conferences and receptions and other kinds of social gatherings, this seemed to be the only option." Gail had thought everything through. She wanted to take the wind out of Elaine's sails right from the start. Of course she only partially managed.

"And this couldn't wait until a less stressful time?" Elaine inquired, her eyebrows raised.

"No, mother, this couldn't wait." She went back and closed the door to her mother's office before finding her place behind the chair again. Her plan was to just confront Elaine with facts, to not give her too many explanations, too much reasoning, because all these things were just what Elaine was waiting for – something that she could twist around and throw back at Gail.

"Look. I need to tell you something. I don't know if you're going to like it, but frankly, it doesn't matter. You don't have to like it, you don't have to support it. Although of course I would appreciate it if you did. Eventually, at least. Just know that this is not something that you get a say in. This is not something you can meddle in. I won't let you. And if I should find out that you are, I will not just stand down and shut up about it, like I have so many times in the past, do you understand?" Ok, so part one had gone fairly well. The warning.

"Frankly, dear, no. I don't understand because I have no idea what this is about. So maybe you would be so kind as to enlighten me?" Elaine was getting somewhat impatient. She really had no idea what this was about and she dreaded this feeling. She liked to think that she was always quite well-informed about what was going on in her children's lives, but in this case, she was absolutely clueless.

"Alright. I'm seeing someone, mother. No, it is not one of your charming suitors, it is not Nicholas again, and it certainly is not just a fling. This is serious. I'm serious. As serious as I've ever been about any relationship, and probably as serious as I ever will be."

Elaine tried to keep it together. She had never seen her daughter this determined, this confident and this serious. It was obvious she meant business. So she tried for a supportive and happy smile, although she couldn't hide the slight irritation at the fact that she had apparently been excluded from such an important development in her daughter's life.

"Well, that sounds very good, dear. It was about time you grew up in that department. So, who is this gentleman?"

"It's not a gentleman, mother. I met her through work. She is amazing. She is smart, funny, beautiful, caring. Basically, anyone who wouldn't love her would be a fool." She couldn't help the smile that graced her face as she talked about Holly.

"She?" She must have heard that wrong. Certainly Gail said 'he'. Right?

"Yes, mother, she. A woman. I am seeing a woman. Also, she has a son. He's great. Really adorable, and just as smart as his mother."

"A son? Well, I don't know why I'm surprised. Dating single mothers seems to have become quite the hobby of the Peck children these days."

"This is not a hobby. It's my life. As I said, I'm serious about this. And by the way, so is Steve. So maybe you should start taking us seriously."

"This will be such a shock for your father." Gail shook her head in disbelief as Elaine shook hers trying to convey worry and disappointment on her father's behalf.

"No. Don't you try and put this on dad. I already talked to him, and you know what his first question was? Whether I was happy. That was all that mattered to him. He was just happy I was happy." She paused for a moment, searching out her mother's eyes and holding her gaze. "This is your problem, and yours alone. Have you even for a second stopped to think about whether I was happy and whether maybe that was enough for you to know?"

There were long moments of silence. Elaine didn't really know what to say. Apparently her usual technique of intimidating Gail didn't work anymore – or at least not in this case. Obviously, it was time to just admit defeat, to realise that this was indeed something that Elaine could do nothing about, that this was something that she just had to come to terms with. But Elaine wasn't that quick to give up. There was far too much pride in her way. Maybe she could extend a hand though, get back on Gail's good side?

"So, are you? Happy?" Gail was surprised, to say the least. Yes, she had practically put the words in her mother's mouth, but she never thought she would actually utter them.

"Yes. Very." She had tried to maintain her hard, impenetrable exterior, she wanted to show no weakness whatsoever that her mother could take advantage of. But in that moment, she couldn't. The thought of Holly and Ash, just the thought of how happy she really was, made her features go soft, her voice go gentle, and conjured a smile on her face. It certainly wasn't lost on Elaine, the profound and tranquil happiness and contentment that her daughter radiated, like she had never even remotely seen it from her before. She barely managed to suppress her own smile, but she did. She wasn't ready to back down completely.

"So, won't you tell me her name?" Elaine tried to regain some control.

"Why, so you can run a backup check? See if she maybe works for a department you might somehow get your hands on?" Gail's answer came quick like a shot. Apparently she had been waiting for that request. Apparently she had omitted her name deliberately.

"So what, will your father and I never meet her and her son then?" She felt her hopes dash as Gail prevailed. Gail took a breath and smiled, this time a manifestation of the high ground she found herself on. This conversation, after all, seemed to be going exactly the way she had planned it.

"Of course you will. They're a part of my life. But only once I can be sure you will be civil. Only once I can be sure you understand that this is no place for you to butt in. Look, despite what you may think, I don't think you're the devil. I'm sure you'll come around in the end, and the sooner you'll be willing and able to share my happiness, the better. But I understand that it may be an adjustment, and I will respect whichever amount of time you will need to come to terms with that. You just need to understand one thing. Her son is her everything and she would do anything to protect him. And I... They mean the world to me. So I, in turn, will do everything to protect them, to keep them safe, and to keep them happy. So if you even so much as think about finding some loophole to play one of your power games with either one of them, you will have me to contend with."

She actually meant what she said. Her mother wasn't the devil, but she did have a tendency to meddle, she didn't like not being in control, so she also knew she needed clear boundaries. She noticed how Elaine swallowed hard and leaned back in her chair in defeat and clearly hurt at the mistrust she was met with from her own daughter. Gail almost felt bad about it, but she knew that if she left only the tiniest doubt about her determination, her mother would find a way in to mess with Gail, playing on each of her insecurities. After a few long moments of silence, Gail spoke up again.

"Do you understand that, mother?"

"Yes, Gail, you have been very clear, I can assure you of that." Elaine snapped.

"Alright then." Gail nodded, considering whether she should end their conversation with some conciliatory words, but opted against it. No backtracking.

"Gail?" She already had her hand on the doorknob when her mother called out to her. She turned around.

"Detective rotations are coming up again. You may finally want to consider handing in an application. A proper one, I mean." Gail couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Wow. It is always the same with you isn't it?" She shook her head and turned to leave again, but Elaine wasn't finished.

"What was it that you said? They mean the world to you? You'd do anything to keep them happy? How happy do you think they'll be when you get shot while patrolling the streets?" Gail froze, speechless. She definitely didn't see this coming, that she would use her revelation like that for her own agenda. Or was it really honest concern?

"Don't you think they will be worried sick every time you put on your vest and go out there? How do you think you will feel when you're standing there with a gun pointed at you? How do you think you will feel at the prospect of robbing them of a loved one, of putting them through the agony of losing you. If you want to have a family, you'll have to make some sacrifices, Gail."

The blonde just stared at her mother, her words hitting her hard. She knew her job was dangerous, she knew Holly worried, that became obvious the day of the shootings. But of course her mother had to paint a vivid picture of the worst possible outcome, and it made her sick to the stomach.

"I know you never thought of me as being very motherly. But don't forget that I am a mother. And a wife. And even though you may never have seen it that way, I have made sacrifices as well, because that is what you do when you have a family."

More silence. Gail simply didn't know what to say, and Elaine knew that she had already said enough. She also knew that what she was insinuating here was a little bit of a stretch, although it wasn't entirely untrue. Yes, after Steve was born she made an effort to get off the streets and climb the greasy pole of Toronto Police as quickly as possible. Granted, the initial suggestion was made by her husband, but she soon agreed that it was in the best interest of their family. What was long forgotten, even by her herself, was that, not unlike Gail, she used to like the dirty work. She used to like getting out there, actually making a difference, being in touch with the people she had sworn to serve and protect. She couldn't deny though, that once she had started to climb the ranks, she came to enjoy it thoroughly. Maybe in an attempt to convince herself that it had been the right decision, that she could still get somewhere, that she still had her own ambitions and didn't just shy away from getting out there because now, as a mother, she had gotten soft and scared. Maybe, though, it was because she soon found out that only few people played the career game as well and elegantly – and as successfully – as she did. And yes, she had to admit that success and power gave her a kind of rush that left her yearning for more.

She realised only a few years ago that the initial idea, doing it for the family, had somewhere along the line changed to the contrary. At best you could say that she had lost touch with her family, especially her children. Steve was self-confident enough to simply ignore his mother's remarks, but still, emotionally, he kept her at a distance. Her husband, well, he loved her, she knew he did, and he defended her in front of their children. But she also knew that he didn't approve of the way she put pressure on them, especially Gail, and the way she put her career in front of everything else. And Gail, well, she supposed that she was affected most by it all. She knew that she felt like she could never live up to Elaine's expectations, like she could only do wrong in her eyes anyway. She knew that she avoided her as best as she could. And while she could understand why, it hurt, and now, in retrospect, she regretted quite a few of her decisions deeply. She knew that her husband had some idea about how she felt, although she never had verbalised her regret. She didn't know how. Just like she didn't know how now, after years and decades of acting that way, she could manage a shift in direction, however slight it might be.

Dating a woman was certainly not what she had had in mind for her daughter. Neither was adding yet another stepchild to the family that would probably never call her 'grandma'. But she had a feeling she couldn't change that. Given Gail's obvious, unwavering determination, she was actually quite sure she couldn't change that. Amidst all those things that weren't too much to her liking, though, she also saw a ray of hope, a possibility to reconnect with Gail, a chance that now that Gail in some sort of way had a family of her own, might understand some of her actions a little bit better. Most of all, though, she genuinely appreciated that Gail did not avoid the confrontation with her this time, that she came to her, that she opened up to her in a way she hadn't in a long time. And she couldn't help but be proud of her, respect the way she stood up to her, the way she seemed to have overcome her insecurities and just met Elaine head on, because she had found something worth doing it for.

And she knew that this was her other big chance in getting a little bit of her family back – showing Gail that she will respect her request, and that she will respect her choice. Showing Gail that she, too, could overcome some of her inadequacies because despite many – certainly warranted – doubts her family was something that was worth it to her.

"Just think about it Gail."

Without another word, she turned around and left. She marched out of the office building, her mind racing. After their conversation had gone precisely as planned at first, her mother somehow managed yet again to leave Gail full of doubt about whether what she was doing was actually right. Without even thinking about it, she picked her phone out of her pocket and dialled Holly's number. At the sound of the first dial tone, she remembered that Ash was with Holly. While they had been spending a lot of time together lately and Holly had been trying to incorporate Gail into their lives more and more, they hadn't reached the point yet where Gail would sleep over when Ash was there. And tonight, for the first time, the thought of that really, really bothered her. She needed Holly tonight, needed to be held, needed some affirmation that everything was alright. But she would settle for a quick cuddle session on the couch if she needed to. She just wanted to see Holly.

"Lunchbox." Holly answered her phone cheekily, but the playfulness was quickly gone when she heard Gail's small and dejected voice.

"Hey." Gail breathed.

"Hey, Gail. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really. I don't know. I just... I know Ash is with you tonight, it's just... Can I come over?" Her request was careful, but the urgency was still obvious.

"Of course you can. Ash is in bed already anyway." Holly shot back, her voice soft. She didn't want to leave a doubt in Gail's mind that she wanted her to come over.

"Ok, I'll be there in twenty?"

"K. I'll be waiting for you." The smile Gail heard in Holly's voice calmed her down considerably.

They had been sitting on Holly's sofa, Gail's legs stretched out into Holly's lap, for about half an hour now, in silence at first, until Gail was ready to talk about what had happened earlier. While she had relaxed considerably since she was first greeted by Holly, there was still worry etched over her face.

"Hey. Gail." Holly whispered, her hands stroking up and down Gail's legs. "I'm really proud of you for telling your parents, and for standing up to your mom like that. But... Look, I don't want you to break with your family over us. We'll be fine, you and me and Ash. I'm sure we will. I just... I want you to be fine, too. I want you and your family to be okay."

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be ok. I mean, my dad was just happy for me anyway, and my mom... She's not a monster, you know? She'll come around eventually, even if it's just for my father's sake. She just needed to be shown some boundaries." Gail took a hold of Holly's hand, playing with her fingers.

"But you're obviously feeling low about it, you're obviously worrying. And I really don't want us to be the reason for that. You shouldn't be the one always sacrificing or soft-pedalling, you know?"

"Hey. No. Don't worry. Seriously." She leaned in to kiss Holly softly. "It's not that. Really. I've never felt so good about anything I've said to my mother. It's just... what she said. You know how she always manages to get to me."

"I'm sorry." Now it was Holly's turn to lean in and kiss Gail. "What did she say?"

"Ugh. It doesn't matter." Gail snorted and tried to reject it with a shrug, kicking herself for even bringing it up, and even though Holly countered with one of her you-know-you-can't-fool-me-so-cut-the-crap looks, Gail managed to convince her that it really was nothing. "Just same old, same old", Gail had said, and Holly didn't push any further.

Gail moved over to settle in Holly's arms, resting her head on the brunette's chest and quickly changed the topic, asking about Holly's day. When she heard Holly stifle the fourth or fifth yawn, she decided it was time to put an end to this. "You're tired."

"I'm sorry. Spending all afternoon surrounded by a bunch of kids hopped up on sugar will do that to you. Don't get me wrong, I really love Ash. But I hate that he has to have friends and go to birthday parties and stuff like that." Holly chuckled.

"Aren't there usually drinks for the parents? You know, to keep them happy?"

"Pff. I wished there had been!" The brunette scoffed.

"Ok, well, I'm going to let you sleep then. I'm actually quite beat myself. And I only needed one Elaine Peck, probably hopped up on celery sticks and green tea or something, to accomplish that." Gail sat up, placing several small kisses on Holly's lips while she tried to get off the couch.

"You know, you could... just stay here?" Holly pulled the blonde back down, intensifying their kisses.

"Are you serious?" Gail squeezed out in between kisses.

"Yes." Holly nodded.

"Well, when does Ash get up?" It took them a while to break away from each other, but the fact that they were both really just craving some sleep prevented them from taking this any further.

"Pfff, sometime between seven and ten." Holly shrugged, not really understanding the question.

"Ok." Gail picked up her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Setting my alarm."

Holly stretched to sneak a peek at the screen. "To six? Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"No. But I thought I should be gone before Ash wakes up." Gail replied matter-of-factly as she locked her phone and shoved it into her back pocket.

"Or you could just... stay? Sunday is pancake day. And my pancakes are to die for!" Holly grinned cheekily.

"Are you sure?"

"About the pancakes?" Gail raised her eyebrows while Holly feigned ignorance. When Gail seemed to become impatient, Holly quickly pulled her in for another kiss.

"Yes, I'm sure. Stay. Please?"

"And you think Ash is going to be ok with that?" There was still doubt etched across Gail's face. She knew it was a big step for them and she didn't want it to be too soon.

"Are you kidding me? He loves you. The question is, are you going to be ok with it?"

"Yeah. I am." The blonde nodded and smiled.

"Then Ash is going to be ok with it." Holly pulled Gail off the couch and lead her up the stairs.