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Disclaimer. - I do not own or profit from this. I only own my own ideas.
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Hey people,
I'm sorry that Updating is taking a while, it's cos I've started studying an Computer course so it takes up some time, but I have no intention of stopping this story and I actually hope to post the first chapter of an AU one I've started shortly. I won't bore you with my rubbish and let you get to reading the next instalment.
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Chapter Nineteen
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It was Thursday morning almost week later, Gail and Holly had just been to the blondes therapy session and, in a rare coincidence, both women had the day off work "So what would you like to do today?" The brunette asked as they went to the car.
"No wedding stuff or work stuff" Gail said as she hobbled to the car "We could always do some shopping?" She said.
Holly looked at her and the blonde winked "Oh, you mean shopping for that?" She asked.
"Could make our morning a little more interesting" Gail said wiggling her eyebrows.
"You really think your physically up to it?" The brunette asked as they got in the car.
"I'll manage" the blonde said "Where there's a will there's a way"
"Alright then" Holly said with a smile, she picked up the bottle of water in the console and had a drink.
"I've never been to a sex shop before" Gail said completely straight faced, making her girlfriend almost spit the water out, she tried to swallow and choked. The blonde hit her on the back, thankfully she hadn't pulled out of the parking spot yet "Are you okay?" She asked concerned.
"You've never been to a sex shop?" The brunette repeated as she put the water back in the cup holder and started pulling out of the parking lot.
"Why are you so surprised, I haven't been a lesbian for a year yet, was I suppose to go to one straight away, did I miss a step or something?" The blonde said sarcastically.
Holly, as she usually did, took Gail's words with a grain of salt. She knew her fiancees reaction was out if embarrassment not from anything nasty, she smiled "It's okay Hun, I'll take the blame when the lesbian council contacts us about how your turning to the dark side is going" she rested her hand on the blondes leg "Honestly, I just thought you would have been that's all, even just through work on a case"
"No" Gail said smiling, her tone changing, she rested her hand on the brunettes "I'm a sex shop virgin, you'll have to guide me through it"
"Don't worry, I'll be there to guide you through it"
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They walked across the carpark to the shop, well Holly walked Gail hobbled on the crutch she was still using, the blonde had fidgeted the entire trip "You doing okay there?" The brunette asked, reaching out and brushing her hand over her back.
"I'm fine" Gail said, too quickly.
Holly looked at her face "You are bright red honey, I can do this on my own" she was doing her best not to laugh or even smile at the blondes distress, knowing how quickly a slightly stressful situation can turn serious for her.
The officer stopped "I'm alright Hol, I'm just..."
"Embarrassed?" The doctor asked resting her hands on the other woman's hips.
Gail huffed "No" she said, Holly tilted her head at her "Fine yes, I'm worried some one will see me then every one will hear about it and then I'll never hear the end of it"
This time the brunette chuckled "Why do you think I came to one away from 15's patrol area?" She took the blondes hand "Come on, lets go get this over with"
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"Wow" Gail said as they walked down one of the aisles in the shop "I didn't know there were that many sex toys" Holly chuckled and kissed her temple "What?" The blonde asked slightly indignant.
"I think it's cute" the brunette said as she moved down the aisle to the strapless toys.
"What's cute?" Gail asked following her.
"How innocent you are sometimes" Holly said as she started looking for what she wanted.
The blonde pouted "I am not innocent"
"The silly questions you asked me that night at Frank and Noelle's wedding suggest otherwise" the brunette pointed out.
Gail frowned then looked at the shelf "Strapless, I thought the idea was a strap on"
"Harnesses can be uncomfortable and these are more pleasurable for both parties" she said picking up a strapless strap on.
The blonde raised an eyebrow at her and grinned, they were past awkward now "I'll trust to your expert opinion, let's get this one and go home and try it" she winked at her and continued looking.
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They pulled the car up in the driveway to Matt's car and Chris' truck in the driveway "Shit" Gail said "looks like we'll have to wait"
Holly smiled "It needs sterilising anyway, we'll use one day when we're in the mood and have the house to ourselves"
When they got inside the brunette took their purchase upstairs while the blonde hobbled into the sitting room to see the two men, sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace, trying to put together Holly's artificial Christmas tree, they had intended on putting it up and decorating it with Sophie that afternoon, obviously the boys decided to start on it early "I'm telling you, these ones go up here and those go down there"
"What are you idiots doing?" The blonde said as she sat in the couch.
"Holly pulled this stuff out of storage, so I figured we could get started on it, instead of sitting around doing nothing" Matt said from his spot on the floor, surrounded by tree branches.
"The branches and the trunk are colour coded, if you look at the ends there is coloured tape" The brunette said as she came down the stairs, having heard the conversation "Chris, are you here for lunch?" She asked as she came and stood behind her fiancee.
The man checked his watch "I'm not on shift until 4 so yea if that's okay?"
"If you don't mind ordered in pizza it's fine" Holly said "Any requests?"
They all shouted different toppings out, the doctor managed to get them all down and made the call. She came back in carrying sodas for each of them, she gave them out "So have you managed to sort it out or do I need to help?" she said sitting next to Gail, the blonde put her braced leg onto her lap.
"We can do it" Matt said indignantly and started sorting the branches into piles, while Chris managed to get the trunk up on the stand.
"Yes but will it be done by Christmas?" Gail asked.
"Yes, wise ass" her future brother in law said back.
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An hour and a few arguments about branch placement later they were seated around the dining table finishing eating the pizza "I could have cooked something" Matt said then took another bite.
"You cook enough" Holly answered "Anyway we had planned on ordering in before we knew you were here" she explained.
"It's rare you both have days off together during the week" he stated.
"It's weird, we've got two days off together next week too" Gail said "I asked Frank, he just said once I'm back on full duty he needs me to take more night shifts than days so he wanted to give us some time together" she shrugged "it was strange"
"Maybe it was after what happened at the party, maybe he thinks you guys need the time" Chris said "He's been pretty mellow since he came back, don't get me wrong he's the same hard ass just more giving with personal stuff" he explained.
"Mmmm" Gail mumbled.
"So when are you back on full duty?" Matt asked, knowing the blonde had been out of action for longer than Holly had initially said she would be.
"I have an appointment next week for my leg then, one the week after for my hand so hopefully in two to three weeks I'll be cleared" Gail explained.
He nodded and looked to his sister, he knew she was dreading her fiancees return to full duty, she gave him a tight smile and shook her head, telling him not to continue talking about it. The foursome lulled into silence as they ate until a phone went off "It's mine" Chris said digging it out of his pocket, he checked the screen and then got up and left the room.
"Wonder what that was about?" Gail said.
"Denise has been calling a lot, Christian has been asking for Chris and he's not sure if he should get involved again" he explained, knowing Gail already knew most of the situation.
"Finding out he wasn't his son was part of what..." Holly didn't finish the thought as the tall subject of there conversation returned.
"I've gotta go, I called my therapist this morning to get an appointment and one just opened up, thanks for lunch guys" he said and left.
They sat thinking for a minute until Matt spoke "I might get outta here too" he said standing and starting to clean "Give you two some time alone on your day off"
"No stay" the blonde said "Sophie is coming over after school for a while, we can decorate the tree" he stopped moving and looked at her "Don't..." She said.
Holly smiled and shook her head, she got up and collected the plates, leaving them alone.
"You want me to stay, aww I didn't know you felt that way"
"Shut up" Gail said blushing.
Matt leaned in so his sister wouldn't hear "I know you love me speed bump" he kissed her head and picked up the pizza boxes.
The blonde rolled her eyes and headed to the sitting room
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"Hi Holly, where's Gail?" Sophie asked as Holly let her and Trisha in in the front door.
"On the couch" The doctor said and the girl took off "How's she doing?" She asked the woman as she shut the door.
"Good" the foster mother said "Kira is trying hard to get to the point she's ready to take her, she's spending her weekends there at the moment and seems to be really enjoying it, I think having her Aunty is great for her but if it hadn't been for you and Gail we may never have found her"
The brunette smiled "When we decided to do this, we said to each other no matter what happened, even if we found someone, all we wanted was what was best for her, if that's Kira then we're in full support"
"I do feel bad though, I know Gail had really wanted to be a mom and give her a home" Trisha said as she slipped her coat off.
"We both did, we're making plans to try to have our own after the wedding" Holly explained and held up the jug from the coffee maker, the other woman nodded "If that's not meant to be we'll possibly adopt"
"That's great, you'll both be great parents"
In the sitting room, Sophie was questioning Gail "So you won't have this anymore next week?" She asked pointing at the brace on her leg.
"Nope it should be gone, this one" she waved her hand "the week after"
"So your not gonna be hurt anymore?" She asked.
"Nope"
Matt walked in the room carrying a box "Hey little bug, you wanna help us decorate the tree?" He said as he put the box in front of the empty tree.
"Really?" She asked the blonde excitedly.
Gail grinned at her "Yea of course, I need you to help Matt because of my leg" she said tapping on the brace.
The brunette man smiled and winked at her over the little girl's head "Yea, You gotta do Gail's part for me"
"Is that okay?" She asked the blonde.
"Of course" Gail replied with a soft smile.
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Later that night, Holly and Gail are laying in bed, The brunette was wrapped around the blonde from behind, Trisha had left the little girl with them and they ended up having dinner with Sophie and driving her home. Holly was almost asleep when Gail spoke "I was thinking..." She said softly.
"That's never a good thing" The brunette said, sleepily, tightening her hold on her lover.
"What are you thinking about doing for Christmas? Last year as with every year I spent Christmas Eve getting drunk at my parents big annual social party and the next day still drinking on the couch playing games"
"Hoping for better?" The brunette asked, softly kissing her shoulder.
"Well my mothers already told me we're both expected to at least make an appearance at the party, I'm kinda hoping we can have some of Christmas Day with Sophie and Matt, maybe see your parents?" Gail asked sounding very unsure.
"Hey, whatever you want to do is good with me" Holly said softly "Come here" the blonde rolled over not really meeting her eyes "What's wrong?" Gail shrugged and slipped back into the brunettes arms resting her head on her chest. Holly kissed her head "Is this about Sophie?"
There was silence in the room for a few seconds "This should have been our first Christmas with her as a family" the blonde whispered, her fiancee could hear she was fighting tears.
"Oh Sweetheart" Holly said holding her tighter.
"Watching her and Matt decorate the tree, just..." Gail tried to explain but her voice broke.
"I know" the brunette said and held her as tight as she could as the blonde sobbed into her chest. They both laid together crying for the family they'd planned and both set their hearts on. After a while Holly started to wonder if the woman in her arms was asleep "Honey" she whispered softly.
"Yea?" Gail answered hoarsely and sniffed.
The brunette rolled away a little and grabbed a tissue box, they both cleaned up and resumed cuddling "I was thinking after Christmas we could start making enquires about..." Holly hesitated a little, she knew that she herself was ready to be a parent and honestly would start tomorrow if Gail wanted it, they'd said after they were married but that had been it "having our own"
The blonde, who had resumed her position with her head on her lovers chest, finally looked up at the brunette, she smiled up at her "You'd be okay with that?" She asked, she moved back a little.
Holly just smiled down at her "We did talk about doing this after the wedding, we never really said straight away but I've been thinking about it a lot, since we lost the chance with Sophie and your ready to be a mom and so I am I so why not get it going as soon..." She trailed off, when she noticed Gail just looking at her with a gleeful grin "What?" She asked.
The blonde leaned in a kissed her "I love you so much lunchbox, and I can't wait for us to do this together"
"So we start looking into it after Christmas?" The brunette asked.
Gail smiled "Yea, you and me Hol, we're gonna do this together"
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A week later, the couple were at, what they hoped would be, Gail's last appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon in regards to her leg. She had a scan and they were waiting in a treatment room for Dr Gordon. Holly had woken that morning not feeling very well, she'd taken some headache pills but in the last hour, her voice had gotten croaky and she'd been sniffling "Your looking worse" the blonde said.
"Thanks" the brunette said sarcastically, grabbing a tissue from the nearby box, she blew her nose.
Gail slipped her hand into Holly's "You know I don't mean it that way"
"I know" the brunette croaked "It's only a cold, I'll survive" she coughed.
"Well, I'm off today and tomorrow, it's about time I had a chance to look after you for a change" Gail said, she lifted her hand and kissed it.
The doctor came in "Alright" he said "Scans look good, everything looks like it's continued to heal well and the report from the physical therapist is positive so we'll get you out of the brace today, next week when you come about your hand, I'll sign you off as fit for duty"
"Thank you" the blonde said sounding relieved.
"Now, I know you've been waiting for this, it's been a long process but it's almost over, you may still be sore now and again so listen to your body, stop and rest when you need to, you also need to make sure you keep taking calcium, it will help with your continued healing and if you break anything again" he said.
Holly had been quiet the whole time, Dr Gordon looked over at her "You okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine, I have a cold" she croaked.
"Okay" he said he moved over and took the brace off Gail's leg "Let me see you walk" The blonde walked across the room with a slight limp "What's hurting?" He asked as he pointed to the chair, she sat and he examined her leg.
"It's my knee, it's not hurting so much, it's more like it's stiff, it hurts occasionally" She explained.
The doctor manipulated her knee and she winced occasionally "It should loosen up as you use it" he said "I'll keep you doing physical therapy this week and see how it is next week" he wrote a few things on her chart, he checked his watch "I have a few appointments so I'll leave you to it" he closed the folder as he went to walk out he put his hand on the brunettes shoulder "Take it easy and I'll see you two next week"
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Gail pulled her SUV into the driveway, she'd insisted on driving, aside from the fact she hadn't driven for two months, she didn't want her unwell lover to have to. She had taken Holly to the pharmacy and gotten some cold tablets and a few other things she would need "Okay, you are going straight to the couch while I make us some lunch"
The brunette who had her head back on the head rest and eyed her fiancee "Really?"
"I can cook the basics you know" the blonde said "I can even manage chicken soup, although I already asked Traci to drop some of her moms off after her shift because it's like a miracle cure when your sick" she opened the door.
"Right now a grilled cheese and a cup of homemade ginger tea with lemon and honey would be lovely" she said as they got out.
"Ginger Tea?" Gail questioned, pulling a face "How about I leave that one to Matt and we go with green tea with lemon and honey" she said as they reached the steps together, she was holding their groceries in one hand and held out her braced hand to her lover.
"Sounds great" Holly said and sniffed.
They went inside, the brunette did as she was told and went and laid on the couch, by the time the blonde went in with her lunch, Holly was out cold. Gail kissed her on the forehead and covered her with a blanket. She sat down in front of the couch and and quietly started playing a game, while eating what she had made her fiancée for lunch.
She'd been playing for about an hour when Matt came in "Hey" he called out.
"In here" Gail called back.
He walked in and saw his sister sleeping "She okay?" He asked softly.
"She not well, she's got a cold" the blonde said as she paused the game.
"I see your brace free" he commented and headed for the kitchen.
"Yea the other one should go next week" Gail said, she got up and followed him.
"So you'll be back on full duty?" He asked as he pulled a few things from the fridge.
"Hopefully, I know Holly doesn't want me to" she said as she sat on the stool.
"She wants you to be happy, if being a cop makes you happy, she'll support you" He put a pot of water on the stove "She requested ginger tea yet?" He asked.
"Yea, I'm assuming that's what your doing?"
"Yep, she always had it when she got a cold when we were younger, that, chicken soup and sleep" he said as he prepared the things for the tea.
"Well that's two already taken care of, Traci's bringing the chicken soup and she's sleeping" the blonde said "So what were you up to this morning, you were gone when we got up?" She asked.
"I was looking at a few places to live" he said as he put some things in the pot.
Gail frowned "Why?" She asked confused.
"Because I'm living with my sister and her fiancee, it's not exactly an ideal situation" he said as he stirred the pot on the stove.
"Neither of us said you had to go, I like you being around and I know Holly likes having you here" the blonde said "plus you've been a great help while I was off my feet"
"Yes and now that your back on your feet I should go and let you guys have time on your own together" he said.
"I'll make you a deal, stay until after the new year, help us with the wedding and if you insist on leaving, you can do it once we're married" Gail offered.
"Sounds like a plan to me" Holly croaked as she wrapped her arms around the blonde from behind "You know you can stay" she said to her brother as she rested her chin on Gail's shoulder.
"I know, I need to do this though Hol, you know that, I'll stay until the wedding" he said snapping, he went to turn but stopped realising he'd been a little short with them "I'm sorry" he said turning back "I didn't mean to snap"
"We get it" the brunette said, her brother went back to the stove. Her lover glanced up at her, Holly shook her head and mouthed 'Later'
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Gail waited until after Matt had gone to work to bring the subject up again, the blonde was sitting on the couch with Holly's head in her lap, they were watching a documentary on TV "So what was that with Matt earlier?" She asked playing with the fibres on the blanket covering the brunette.
Holly looked away from the TV, up at her lover "He feels like he needs to prove to himself he can live alone and not do drugs, it's part of the reason he lived in Niagara"
"He doesn't think I want him here because I think he'll fall off the wagon does he? it's not that I just..." Gail hesitated.
"No, if anything, we provide a place for him to feel safe from the drugs, your a cop, I'm in forensics there's no way there would be any real temptation to do drugs here" the brunette explained.
"What exactly happened to him?" The blonde asked.
"What do you mean?" Holly was unsure what she was asking.
"Did he almost overdose or get in trouble or something?" Gail asked, curious as to what exactly had gone one between the siblings.
The brunette sighed "What I'm gonna say, stays between us"
The blonde frowned "Of course"
"I've never told anyone about this not even mom and dad" Holly said, she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose then started "His last dose almost killed him, had I not checked on him that night, he would have been dead, I had taken to carrying Narcan with me all the time because he'd had a couple of close calls. That night I had to kick in his door and he was having a seizure" Gail reached out and took her hand, squeezing it "after he came around and settled down, I told him that was it, if he didn't go to rehab I was done. I gave him the talk I gave Chris and he agreed to go" she sighed "it was hard, all of it"
"I'm sorry" her fiancee said "I can't even imagine, it was hard enough when it was Chris, had it been Steve..." She trailed off.
"During rehab they tell you that you need to be able to stand on your own two feet before trying to even think about including another person in your life, he stayed with me for six months after rehab then moved to Niagara, determined to do it alone, I was terrified" she closed her eyes, obviously holding in the emotions "We had a huge fight and he left with all his things, I got a call when he got there and then didn't hear from him for almost another year then he turned up on my doorstep to sort it out, he'd been clean the whole time and we talked about everything including his reluctance to come out"
"That part, I don't get, your folks are awesome" Gail said running her free hand through Holly's hair.
"They are but the world isn't, you know everyone needs to do it on their own timetable, hopefully he'll find someone someday who inspires him to take that step" the brunette explained, her voice getting more hoarse.
"So this is a, proving it to himself that he can live alone in the city and not get high thing, not a I don't want to stay here thing?" The blonde asked.
"Pretty much" Holly confirmed and coughed.
"Why didn't he just say that? It's not like I don't know his past" Gail said.
The brunette shrugged "You'd have to ask him" She coughed again.
"Alright, no more talking" Gail said "You are having a hot bath, Traci will be dropping the soup off any second, you can bathe then have some soup and we'll curl up in bed and watch a movie"
"Yes ma'am" Holly said, lifted her their joined hands and kissed the back of the blondes.
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Within two weeks, Holly was over her cold, Gail finally got rid of her last brace and was deemed fit for duty, once she had attended a mandated therapist appointment and passed her recertification for her firearm, of course. It was the morning of her first day back, she was on days for the first two to get use to it again. She was laying, spooning Holly from behind in the very early morning, she didn't have to get up for a while and was just enjoying the warmth of the bed and holding the woman in her arms. It had snowed the night before and even with the heating and fireplace in the house, it would still be cold outside the bed. She tugged the brunette tighter against her "Morning" Holly's husky sleepy voice whispered.
"Morning" the blonde replied.
"I can hear you thinking from here, you do know we have over an hour before we have to get up" the brunette pointed out sleepily.
"Yea I know" she answered with a sigh.
"I thought you'd be happy today" her lover pushed, hoping to get the other woman to talk. She rolled over in Gail's arms so she could see her, she lifted her hand and brushed her finger over her forehead "What's going on in there?" Holly asked gently.
Gail leaned forward and gave her a kiss, when it started to heat up, the brunette pushed her back and gave her a look that told her that nothing would continue until she talked. She sighed again "Are you okay with me going back?" She asked.
Holly frowned "We talked about this" she said "Yes, I'm okay with it, it scares me but you've promised me you'll be careful that's enough for me right now"
The blonde watched her for a few seconds, as if she was trying to decide if she was telling the truth or not "Okay" she said and leaned in and captured her lips, happy to end the conversation in favour of more interesting activities until they had to get up.
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Gail was finishing packing her bag before leaving for the station. She zipped it up and called out to her lover "Hol, you ready to go?"
"Yea, one second" the brunette called from upstairs, they'd spent the early hours before getting up making love, it had made them a little late and reluctant to leave the house. Holly bounced down the stairs and handed her fiancee a small gift wrapped box "Something to keep you safe" she kissed her cheek and headed into the downstairs room they use as an office to pick up her kit and briefcase.
"What's this?" Gail asked as she pulled the paper off.
"Just open it" the brunette said from the other room.
The blonde opened the jewellery box as Holly walked back in the room carrying her kit, Gail looked in the box, it was a silver chain with a medallion similar to the one she'd bought the brunette the day they'd gotten back together. On one side it was engraved with hers and Holly's initials and the other side, was what looked like a hammer "What's this?" She said running her finger over it.
The brunette walked over and took it in her hand "It's Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, it's a symbol of protection, to keep you safe"
Gail smiled at her and turned around so she could put it on her "You are such a nerd"
"Says you" Holly said, she wrapped her arms around the blondes waist once she'd put the necklace on "I've seen your comic book collection" she added, kissing her neck.
"They're graphic novels" Gail defended.
"If you say so"
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"Morning" Gail said to Oliver as she walked into the parade room, fully geared up for the first time in months, he was the only one there.
"Peck, nice to see you ready for action" the other man said with a smile "Your riding with me today by the way, I insisted on being there for your first day back"
The blonde smiled "I wouldn't want it any other way"
Everyone else started walking in, most people knew she was back on full duty and were patting her on the back, Frank walked in and stood at the podium as they took their seats "Well first up, as most of you know this is Officer Peck's first official day back on full duty so please do your best to give her as difficult a time as possible as she's had it way too easy for the last few months" he winked at her and she shook her head at him "Now with Christmas coming and all the snow, accidents have been on the rise, please ensure with any scenes that are attended, that all details are taken. Also being close to the holidays means we need to set up some alcohol checks" the group groaned.
Gail put her hand up "I'll do it" she said, they all frowned at her and Oliver pulled her hand down. "What?" she asked him confused. Frank was looking up the back of the room and Gail turned to see her brother standing there, her mother behind him "Great" she muttered.
"Anybody else, if you volunteer now you'll be considered for getting Christmas Day off" The staff Sergeant offered and multiple hands shot up.
"Shit" Gail muttered, she knew her mother was behind this, she pulled out her phone.
Oliver covered it with his hand "They mean well" he said softly while Frank gave out assignments, he already knew theirs.
"I know they do but I was assaulted by a serial killer not a traffic stop" she said putting the phone down, she'd intended on sending Holly a text, but it could wait "I get that their worried, everyone is, but I'm alive, I'm fine, just let me do my job" she stood as everyone else left and pocketed her phone "Go, I'll save you from the Peck family stuff and meet you at the car"
He winked at her "Don't be too hard on them"
The blonde waited as the room emptied and her mother and brother came forward "We just wanted to wish you luck on your first day back on duty" Elaine said and adjusted the collar on her uniform.
Gail pulled away "And tell Frank not to let me do the traffic stop" she said folding her arms.
"I didn't think you needed the reminder" the older woman said "Anyway I needed to see you, we have to make a time with Holly and her mother to go wedding dress shopping"
"I'm gonna go" Steve said and kissed her cheek "Stay safe" he added and left.
"Thanks" she said sarcastically to her brother as he left "You want to organise dress shopping with Holly and her mom, call them yourself" she said and tried to leave already pulling her phone out to warn her lover.
"I'm trying to be better here sweetie, I just..." Elaine paused.
Gail stopped and sighed, she was right, usually her mother would have made the calls to her fiancee and mother without even speaking to her first "I'll talk to Holly tonight" she said.
"It's all I ask" the older woman said.
The blonde left muttering. She made her way out to where Oliver was waiting.
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They'd been patrolling for a while when there had been a call about a report of gunshots in an apartment block. When they arrived they found a body in the apartment but no shooter. Gail was standing outside the apartment door, keeping the crime scene secure until detectives and forensics arrived while Oliver was questioning some of the witnesses, she saw Rodney come around the corner of the stairs and smiled, knowing who would be behind him. When Holly came into view, she was on the phone, carrying her kit, walking with her head down, she held up the police tape on the doorway letting Rodney through but dropped it and put her hand out to stop the distracted doctor "Sorry Lunchbox, your not allowed in there" she said with a grin as she pushed her back her hand on her chest.
This made Holly look up at her "I'll get the results to you as soon as I can" she said, ended the call and put the phone in her pocket, she smiled at the blonde "Well officer I thought you understood the jurisprudence in these situations"
"Oh I do" Gail said as her hand slipped down to the brunettes hip and tugged her into her body "I just want a kiss first"
"Well who am I to deny an officer of the law" Holly said, she slipped her free hand into the blondes short hair and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Mmmmm" Gail moaned into the kiss, then as she pulled back she rested her head on the brunettes "I've missed you today" she whispered.
"I missed you too, morning sex does not make it easy for me to concentrate" Holly gave her a peck on this lips "especially when it was as hot as it was this morning"
The blonde officer gave her a smug grin "Maybe tonight we can..."
Her statement was silenced by Rodney calling out from inside "Dr Stewart?"
"Later" she whispered, gave Gail one more kiss then ducked under the tape, the blonde followed knowing Traci and Sam would want her to document the doctors initial thoughts.
She followed them in, the body was in the sitting room laying on the floor, the only thing they had done was check the apartment for a suspect and contacted forensics "I can see why you didn't call paramedics" Holly said as she squatted next to the body "There isn't much of his head left" she pulled gloves on "The shot came from behind, blew through his skull"
"Yea most of his face is on the wall" the blonde said pointing to it, one thing living with a forensic pathologist had done, was make it easier when dealing with gruesome scenes, she'd been exposed to multiple autopsies and many awful crime scene photos, it didn't bother her as much as it use to.
"Rodney" the brunette said not looking up from the body.
He shuddered "I know photograph, collect and label everything" he started photographing everything before he touched it.
Traci and Sam came in "So what's it look like?" He asked.
"Victim is male, early twenties" Holly said, she checked his pockets, she found his wallet and handed it to Gail, who gave it to Traci "And it looks like he pissed someone off enough that they blew his head apart"
"Execution?" Traci asked.
"From the level of splatter, I would say he was kneeling when he was shot, so yea more than likely" the doctor said as she collected evidence from around the body.
Gail was watching Holly work when Traci nudged her "Peck" she said sounding exasperated. She had obviously been trying to get the blondes attention for a while "Go help Oliver with the witness statements"
She blushed a little, nodded and headed out "She spaced out watching you" the female detective pointed out.
The brunette grinned "I would normally make some egotistical comment but I wanna get this done and back to the lab" she said, she pulled the thermometer out of his abdomen "from his liver temp he's only been dead about two hours" she said putting it away.
"Is there anything else?" Traci asked.
"Not until I get him on my table" Holly said and looked over at Rodney who was finishing photographing everything "Give me some time with the scene and I'll try and give you more"
"Sure" she said "Sam?" He looked up from the desk he was looking at.
"Drugs" he said "and from the amount in this box I'd say he's dealing"
"So guns and gangs?" She asked.
"I'd say so"
0-0-0-0-0-0
Holly was finishing the autopsy, well she was trying to piece together the victims skull when Steve came in "Ewww" he said.
The brunette looked up at him "It's only skull fragments" she slid another piece into place "it was worse when it had brain matter all over it"
He shook his head, trying to get rid of the image "I was told you had the bullet for me and a tox screen" he asked.
She handed him a folder "Positive for the same cocaine at the scene, and the bullet has gone to ballistics for analysis"
There was silence for a second "How's she doing?" He asked.
Holly looked up from her task "I'm assuming your asking about your sister?" She asked.
"Yea" he said touching the table, she could see he wanted to ask something.
"Just ask" she said and looked back down, she liked Steve a lot, he had been there for her when Gail was hurt but she wished he would take his concerns to her, she would talk to him if he picked the right moment.
"Is she really getting better?" He said "After what happened with your brother in law.." He trailed off.
Holly sighed, she put down the pieces of skull, stood as she pulled off her gloves then went and closed the door, knowing her lovers habit of showing up when she has a minute or two to spare, if the door is shut she would knock first. She stood with her back to the door "She's doing better, the dreams are lessening and her moods are more stable" she sighed and moved to the nearby chair "She's on an antidepressant and anti-anxiety meds, she hasn't had a panic attack in a while and sees her therapist every Thursday"
"What set it all off again? she was doing well" Steve said.
"Well, actually she wasn't, she was just okay, she was still having nightmares when we met" she pointed out "She still needed help and was hiding it or people just didn't care enough to help"
"I didn't..." He started.
She interrupted him "I don't actually mean you, I mean her friends who see her everyday and her ex who was too busy with someone else" the brunette said, he could hear the anger in her tone "the serial case and the fact the anniversary of her abduction came up, set her off, but she's getting better now, she met up with the girl she saved, the Allen trial doesn't start for at least six months and she's back at work" Holly thought for a second "You've read the case file on her abduction haven't you? you've at least done that so you know what he did to her?" She asked.
Steve shook he's head "I was deep undercover when it happened and wasn't out until after the trial" he sighed "When I came back and tried to talk to her she just shut me down, I talked to Oliver and some of the others about it, I put in a request for a copy of the whole file including the court documents , mom called me and said I should just leave it alone, it was better if I didn't know"
The brunette raised her eyebrow "You listened to her?" Her voice slightly raised.
He blushed a little "I know one of the only times I shouldn't have but Gail wasn't talking to me either so I didn't really know what to do"
"Look Steve, really, read the file I can't tell you what she's told me I can't.."
"It's okay, I'll get the case file" he said putting his hand up to stop her "I won't ask anymore, your loyalty is to her not me and if I want anymore I'll talk to her, I just wanted to know she's okay that's all"
"She's getting there" Holly said.
Before any more could be said there was a knock on the door "Hol?" It was the woman they were talking about.
Gail let herself in she had two coffee cups in a tray and was carrying a bag of takeout, she looked between her brother and fiancee "Is everything okay?" She asked, she noticed her brother had the blank face the Pecks used when they needed to hide something and Holly looked guilty "You were talking about me?" She asked putting the food and drinks down.
"Gail, Honey..." The brunette started.
"No it's okay" she said to Holly and smiled at her "He should ask me about me, not expect you to tell him things, what did you ask her?" She asked as she turned to her brother.
"I wanted to know how your doing?" He said calmly.
"So ask me asshole, not my fiancée, I don't ask Traci if your okay do I?" She said angrily, he went to speak but she cut him off "Just..." She waved her hand at him and moved over to the bag of food.
Knowing his best bet was to leave her, she'd get over it then the next time she sees act like nothing happened, if he walks away now, if he pushes she won't forgive him for a long time "I'll see you both later"
"Yea, just go" the blonde said still looking at the food. After he had left, Holly waited until Gail spoke "You hungry?" She asked, pulling the containers out.
"Gail, I'm sorry, he came in and asked how you were" The brunette said taking a tentative step towards her, she knows how quickly this could turn into a cat in a tree situation.
Gail rested her hands on the table "What did you tell him?" She still hadn't looked up.
"First I told him to talk to you then I said that your doing better, that your on meds and in therapy" she pause for a beat "After that I told him I couldn't say anymore, that he should talk to you or at the very least read the case file. The idiot hasn't even done that, you'd think that with his sister being a victim in a serial case..." She was interrupted when a pair hand grabbed her face and lips attacked her own, she wrapped her arms around the blonde, hanging onto her duty belt.
Gail slowed the kiss and broke it, she tugged the dark rimmed glasses up then put them on top of the brunette's head and rested their foreheads together "Don't" she said softly "Right now I don't wanna talk about my brother"
"But..." Holly said.
Gail pulled back far enough to look into her lovers eyes "Really, it's okay Hol, I get it he asked questions, you gave him enough to shut him up" she brushed her fingers over the brunette's face "I'm okay and we are good, I'm not upset with you" she sighed "I already knew he didn't read the case file"
Holly tilted her head "How?" She asked as she tugged her tighter against her, still holding her duty belt.
"Perick is still alive" the blonde said, the brunette frowned "If nothing else Peck's are protective of our own, if Steve knew what he did to me he would have found a way to get rid of him. When we were young I was attacked by a guy at a party. Steve saw it and beat him half to death, the guy never pressed charges because he'd attacked me first, I just know him well enough to know how he'll take it when he finds out"
"Maybe someone should pre-warn him" Holly suggested.
"Maybe he should have just read it two years ago" Gail said, she leaned in and kissed Holly again "Let's have lunch, Oliver won't let me live it down if I'm late"
0-0-0-0-0-0
"I'm late I know" Holly said as Gail walked into her office hours later "I'm sorry" she said.
"Don't be" the blonde said dropping onto the couch her fiancée kept in there "Not like I'm in a hurry to hang out with those idiots" she was wearing the jeans and black jacket she had on earlier that morning. She laid on the couch and played with the necklace the brunette had given her.
Holly was standing behind her desk, she finished printing the report on her last autopsy and shut down the computer "What time are we suppose to be there?"
"When we get there, I don't really care, it was Oliver's idea, that's the only reason I'm going" she dropped the necklace and looked at the brunette "I'd much rather go home continue what we started this morning"
Holly smirked "As much fun as that would be, we haven't exactly been the most social people lately, I think an evening out would be good for us both"
"Because it's worked so well in the past" Gail said rolling her eyes.
The brunette eyed her for a second, she closed her briefcase and sat it on the desk. She moved over and straddled the blonde on the couch, she picked up both of her hands and linked their fingers "What are we talking about here?" She asked. Gail frowned up at her "I can see some thing else is going on in that head of yours" she explained.
"I just..." She started but stopped, she played with the ring on Holly's finger, her own, now back on her finger after spending the day hanging on the necklace on her neck, she'd been worried about losing it on duty "I saw my mom today"
"Oh" that had been one of the last things she had expected.
"Yea, she came in this morning, stopped Frank putting me on a traffic stop and informed me, we, as in you, your mom and I, need to organise to go dress shopping" she said.
"What did you say?"
"To call you" the blond said sheepishly "Then she said she's trying and I said I'd talk to you, I'm not use to her actual asking, usually she just decides and I live with it, it's weird and it's made me feel off balance"
Holly smiled down at her "You'll get use to it, at least she is trying" she paused for a beat "Did Frank listen about the traffic stop?"
Gail rolled her eyes again "Yes unfortunately, they think I'm gonna break" she said and looked at their joined hands, she pulled one down and kissed the back of her lovers hand.
"So tell them, don't let them make decisions for you, Frank's a good guy, he'll listen"
0-0-0-0-0-0
The couple walked into the Penny about an hour later, they'd spent more time talking. By the time they left Holly's office, Gail felt better about things, as much as the brunette had turned her world on its ear, she also helped to keep her centred. They went to the bar, before even ordering, Steve was there "I need to talk to you"
"Too bad" the blonde said, not even looking at him "You should have read the case file two years ago, I'm here to have a drink with the others then go home"
"Gail" he said.
"No Steve, just... not tonight okay" she said and walked away.
He turned to Holly "No" she said "my involvement is done, let her cool off" she said and ordered their for them.
He stood next to his future sister in law for a minute "I really screwed up didn't I?" He asked with a sigh.
The brunette paid for the drinks and picked them up, she turned to him "I'm not the one to discuss this with, I can't help you or take your side, she's almost my wife and my priority, talk to Traci" she said and left to find Gail, she hated that she had to be like that with him but truly her only concern was the blonde.
She found the group, up the back with three tables pushed together "So what did he say?" Gail asked as she sat in the empty seat next to her. The blondes hand instantly finding her own when she had settled in the seat.
"That he screwed up, I told him I'm not the one he needs to talk to, that I'm done and if he needs to talk to someone about you to talk to Traci" Holly explained.
"So how is the wedding planning going?" Celery asked from the other side of the table.
They smiled at each other "Well" Holly said "We have the venue and catering booked, invitations are ordered, we're going dress shopping Sunday and we have a celebrant booked as well, so we are pretty on track actually"
"Are you having a bachelorette party?" The other woman asked.
Gail raised her eyebrow at Holly as she took a sip of her drink, they'd never talked about it and she was wondering what she thought, the brunette looked at her "We never really discussed it"
"You've gotta do it" Chloe said interrupting the conversation "You can't get married without having that last night of freedom"
"I don't want or need a last night of freedom, I don't consider marrying Holly as loosing my freedom" the blonde stated, she drained her drink "Do you want a refill?" Gail offered the brunette, she nodded, the blonde kissed her and left.
"No bachelorette party, neither of us want it" Holly said, she was smiling watching her lover leave, she was very proud of her future wife for standing up to them.
"How about we just do one all together?" Traci suggested "both yours and Gail's friends"
The brunette sighed "I'll talk to her but no promises and do not mention it to her or I will deny all knowledge" she understood why her friends wanted to do it, she'd been there, those parties are always fun for the people not getting married.
"You didn't let them talk you into it did you?" The blonde said as she sat back in her seat and handed Holly her drink.
"No" the brunette said, her tone let Gail know that she would talk about what was said later.
The blonde let it drop, before she could speak, Dov interrupted "Who's up for trivia?"
0-0-0-0-0-0
With Holly wiping the floor with the others in trivia, Gail had been talked into playing pool with Oliver against some guys from 17 division "So" he said standing next to her "What's with you and your brother?" He asked.
She rolled her eyes "Leave it alone Ollie" the blonde said as the other officer missed she leaned down to take her shot.
"Just wondered that's all" he said holding his hands up.
"Just leave it" she said as she sunk a ball "He fucked up not me" she stood back up and looked at the table, he gave her a look "he never read the case file on Perick but tried to get details from Holly about it"
"Okay I understand why your pissed" he said "Doc seems happy tonight, how'd she take you being back on today?"
Gail moved over to him and showed him the necklace "She gave me this this morning"
Oliver looked it over "Thor's hammer, symbol of protection" he said. She raised her eyebrows at him "I have kids" he said.
She moved away and took another shot "Speaking of, how are the girls and Celery going now"
"Slightly at odds at the moment, you see I asked them if it would be okay if I asked her to marry me and they weren't too happy"
This made Gail miss the shot, she stood up and smiled at him "You're gonna propose?"
Oliver smiled at her and nodded "Izzy had a few problems with it but I'm still going to do it"
"One thing being with Holly has taught me is, It's your life, you gotta do what makes you happy" the blonde said picking up her glass and having a drink.
"That's similar to what I told her, I think it's finally hit her that I'm not getting back with her mom again"
Before Gail could comment, she felt a set of arms wrap around her from behind "Hey" Holly said softly into her ear.
The blonde rested her hand on the brunettes "Hey, how's trivia?"
"Killed them" the brunette said proudly.
"You do know Dov will keep going until he beats you" Gail pointed out "I had to let him win at Gran Turismo once, just so I could get some sleep"
"It will teach him to take on someone with two doctorates" Holly pointed out "How's the game going?" She asked. As she did the other team sunk the black 8 ball accidentally.
"Just finished actually" Oliver said happily as he collected their winnings, he halved it and handed the blonde her share "And now I'm going to get my lovely lady and head home" he kissed both women on the cheek and left.
"You wanna play again?" The officer from 17 asked.
"No thank you" Holly answered for them "Time to head home" she said against Gail's neck, making the other woman shudder.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Do we really have to do this?" Gail said coming out from the couples ensuite, toothbrush in hand, only wearing jeans and a bra.
"Yes we do" Holly answered as she pulled on one of her boots.
It was Sunday morning, the blonde had been on night shifts for the past four days, so the only time the couple had together was in brief moments between their shifts. Gail had finished at 7am and had slept until her fiancée had woken her with breakfast and coffee at 10 "This is the only day we have together, your working tomorrow and I'm back on nights for at least the next week" she complained and started brushing her teeth.
"I know but the quicker we go and get it done the quicker we can come home" the brunette sighed, this conversation had been happening since she woken the blonde. She finished pulling her boots on and stood and walked into the bathroom. Gail was rinsing with mouthwash, after she spat, she came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her "I don't want to do this anymore than you do" she said running her fingers over the blondes bare abdomen "I would much rather spend our day here, we both promised them this, we've kept them from everything else"
"I know" Gail said, her hands taking the brunette's hands and linking their fingers "I just miss you, I would rather just sit round watching TV with you" Holly gave her a look in the mirror "Alright so I'd actually like to spend some of the time making love, that isn't a quickie in the shower as we cross paths"
"The idea of going dress shopping with both our mothers completely horrifies me too but if we just get it done then we can have the rest of the day" the brunette said and kissed her temple.
"Alright" the blonde said giving in.
0-0-0-0-0-0
It was after lunchtime and this was the fifth dress shop they had been in, the first Elaine had vetoed due to the fact it didn't look professional. The next Holly had walked straight out of as an ex fling of hers was working there. The third they had gotten to the dress trying on stage, when the assistant had disappeared for half an hour, Gail had found her talking on the phone in an office.
The fourth they didn't find anything either of them liked "This is the last one today" Gail said to Holly as they looked at a rack together "I need some sleep" she said with a yawn "Or food, or coffee, or something" she leaned into her lovers side.
"Alright" the brunette said, she knew the blonde had been exceptionally tolerant considering she had only two hours sleep "I'll talk to them soon" she rubbed her hand up and down her back.
Gail tugged a dress off the rack, she looked it over and smiled at Holly "I like this one"
It was full length, white, sleeveless dress, it wasn't puffy or big and had a small amount of lace around the top, the brunette smiled back "Try it on"
The blonde checked the size, it should fit, she took it to the assistant and she directed her to a dressing room, Elaine followed them with a much bigger lacy dress.
Holly continued looking through the racks, he mother came up behind her "This has been a comedy of errors " Wendy said.
"Yea, I think Gail's had enough, she's been on night shift and only slept for two hours this morning, I think this will be the last stop today"
"I don't want to try that one on" Gail's voice boomed over the top of the conversation.
"Shit" Holly said and went to the dressing rooms, she stuck her head in to find her fiancée in her underwear, the shop assistant holding the dress the blonde had picked on one side and Elaine holding a big dress on the other "What's wrong?" She asked.
"I am not wearing that thing" she said pointing at the dress her mother was holding.
"I'll handle it" she said to the girl and took the dress, the girl gave her a relieved smile.
"I need a dress similar to this but not strapless" she said "my mom knows what I'm looking for" the girl nodded and left.
"I don't see how it's such a problem to try this on" Elaine said exasperated "I didn't say you had to choose it, I just wanted to see you in it"
"Elaine can you give us a minute" Holly said.
The second her mother left, the almost naked blonde collapsed in tears on her, obviously exhausted, she'd had enough "How about we get the dress you picked put aside and I'll take tomorrow off and we'll do this together, just us?" She suggested.
0-0-0-0-0-0
After getting the dress put aside and dropping both of their mothers off, Holly pulled the SUV into their driveway. She looked over at Gail and wasn't surprised to find her fast asleep. She felt bad, she should have let her sleep this morning "Gail" she said softly, brushing the hair from the blondes face.
"Mmmm" she mumbled and opened her eyes "I'm sorry" she said looking over at her, her head resting on the headrest.
"It's okay, I'm sorry I shouldn't have made you go" Holly said, she rested her hand on Gail cheek.
"You really gonna take tomorrow off?" She asked.
"Yea, then we can get this done, Mom said she'll come but only if we want the extra opinion" the brunette undid her seatbelt "Come on, let's get you some lunch then bed"
0-0-0-0-0-0
"I love it" Holly said to Gail when she tried on the dress the next day. They'd decided to do it alone together.
"Really?" The blonde said looking down at the fitted dress "It's not very fancy" she said brushing her hands over the material.
The brunette stood up and went over to her, she picked up both of her hands "You look beautiful sweetheart, if you like it and are comfortable in it then we'll get it"
Gail smiled at her "I love it" she said.
"I love you" Holly said back.
"I love you too" the blonde said "Now what about you?"
The brunette gave her a kiss "Well the thing is about my dress, I've already got it" Gail frowned "When my mom got married the second time she kept her dress and I always loved it, she offered it to me yesterday, after everything, and she's going to drop it off on Wednesday so I can take it to get a fitting done"
"Cheat" the blonde said with a sly smile "Okay so now we're done, we need to dress Traci and Rachel"
"Now this part will be fun" Holly said, she gave Gail a quick kiss and headed off to the bridesmaids dresses, while the blonde changed.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Holly and Gail picked out a few different dresses then contacted their bridesmaids, Traci agreed to come over during lunch and Rachel cleared the same time. When both women had arrived at the shop the couple took them and ushered them into the changing room, they looked at the dresses and looked at the couple "Really?" Traci asked picking up a frilly sleeve.
Gail nodded at her "I like that one"
"Holly I know for a fact your taste is better than this" Rachel said looking at another bright flowery dress.
The brunette raised an eyebrow at her friend "Are you two really complaining about the dresses we want you to wear on our wedding day?" She asked, she looked at the blonde next to her "I think they are" she said to Gail.
"I do too, I mean we spent all morning working out which ones we liked..." The blonde coughed, trying to hide a giggle "I can't do it" she said and let the laughter go "the look on your face" she said pointing to Traci "You look truly horrified"
Holly chuckled along with her "As you said, I have better taste than that" she said to Rachel, she pulled out a deep blue dress "We like this colour, you two take a look at the dress styles they have and decide what you like"
"It wasn't that funny" Traci said to Gail, who was still bent over laughing.
"The look on you face" she wheezed through the laughter.
The detective shook her head and followed Rachel out to the dress rack.
Holly walked over and grabbed the blonde from behind "You were right" she said, Gail stood up properly and leaned into the brunette, she was still giggling "That was totally worth it, just to see the looks on their faces"
0-0-0-0-0-0
The decision to have Steve not have read the file on perick was to get to have his reaction to finding out what his sister had been through, which will be in the next chapter, so will Christmas and more wedding prep, maybe a Bachelorette party. Hopefully wedding in the chapter after. This chapter was a bit of a filler, just building to Christmas then the wedding. More coming hopefully sooner rather than later.
Thanks for sticking with me.
Bec oxox
PS... Wedding songs for them, please feel free to send suggestions, and also read and review as it keeps me inspired to keep going.