A/N: Hello again lovelies! Happy Valentine's Day! My gift to all you awesome readers is another chapter in this little adventure, I hope you like it.
As always feedback is greatly appreciated so don't be shy :)
Enjoy guys!
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Chapter 21- Fun, Games, and Favors
Ever since her first impromptu visit the horrible day of the Ford shooting, Holly couldn't enter the station without goosebumps rising on her skin. She wasn't sure why exactly; could've been the memory of her first real kiss with Gail in the interrogation room when the blonde had abruptly pulled Holly to her and kissed her hard to silence her babbling. Or it could've been the memory of the first sense of sickening dread she'd felt after a lab tech had mentioned two officers from 15 taking fire in their patrol car. In the end, Gail had been one of those officers under fire, but luckily, she and Oliver escaped the ordeal unscathed.
Holly weaved her way through the quiet precinct with her patented blue folder in hand. Unlike previous trips to the station, she legitimately had a report to drop off to Sam, but truth be told, this visit also served a dual purpose. She hoped Gail and the rest of the squad had already left for patrol, granted seeing her fiancé was never a bad thing and part of her secretly wouldn't mind ten minutes alone in a dark interrogation room with the blonde bombshell, but the fewer familiar faces she ran into on this encounter the better.
"Hey doc, I hope you have some good news for me," Swarek said swinging open the D's office door for her.
"Mmm not as good as you'd like," she said regretfully. "But not horrible."
"The samples don't match?" he asked, sounding flabbergasted.
"Not exactly," Holly answered with a shake of her head as she laid the DNA sequencing charts out on the table. "See how 37 of the 67 markers are matches?"
Swarek nodded his head as she gestured.
"While the sample isn't a direct match to your suspect, it does suggest that the perp is most likely a relative; second or third generation perhaps," Holly explained pointing to similar points on the charts.
"Really?" Sam asked, suddenly feeling hopeful as he dug in a folder on his desk and produced two mugshot photos, both Caucasian men looking similar. "One of our witnesses stated he thought he saw the nephew or his uncle leaving the night of the shooting, but it was dark and couldn't be sure. I'm thinking we need to take a closer look at the uncle since the nephew has been ruled out."
"Definitively, if you get another sample, I'll be happy to run it for you."
"Thanks Holly, I appreciate it."
"Anytime," she replied with a smile, closing up the report and handing him a copy. "Have you seen Oliver around by chance? I wanted to pick his brain real quick."
"Last I saw he was in his office," Sam replied, walking over to this desk. "If you find a brain in his head to pick though let me know…"
"Will do, thanks Sam," she called over her shoulder as she made her way out the door and back into the hall. Following a short trek, she found the staff Sargent right where Swarek said he'd been. After seeing how deep in concentration he was Holly considered coming back later, but wasn't sure when she'd get another opportunity like this.
"Hey Oliver, do you have a minute?" Holly asked, poking her head inside his door after knocking.
"Of course, darlin', come on in," Oliver waved her into the office, rising to give her a hug.
"This is a pleasant surprise."
"Yeah I had a quick meeting with Sam, but I wanted to stop and see if you could help me with something," the brunette said, sounding hopeful yet hesitant.
"I'm sorry Hol, I can't arrest your intern for mixing up your samples again, but I might be persuaded to scare the hell out of him in exchange for coffee and doughnuts…" he said leaning back in his chair smugly and interlacing his fingers with a smirk causing Holly to chuckle.
"You heard about that, huh?" she asked, a mock pained expression on her face.
"I'm sure half of the city heard about it. She was pretty bummed that he cost you guys your date night," Oliver replied, bouncing in his chair. "How are the wedding plans coming along?"
"Really well actually; we have everything booked, bridesmaids dresses picked out, food menu narrowed down. Now we're just working on the guest list so we can send out the official invitations," Holly said sounding and feeling accomplished.
"Wow good for you. I know when Zoe and I got married it was borderline mass hysteria…and cost a fortune, god I don't even want to think about what a wedding would cost nowadays," he said, rubbing his neck and making a face. The thought of purposing to Celery hadn't escaped his mind, but he figured they'd have a small ceremony rather than a large grand event when the time came.
"You don't want to know, every time we make a payment on the reception hall Gail reminds me how cheap eloping somewhere tropical would've been," she chuckled before adding, "granted if she had it her way we'd probably be getting married on a Star Wars themed cruise ship and eating cheese puffs."
Oliver chuckled while nodding his head in agreement.
"Yep that's definitely our girl," he said. "You guys are having Sargent Bailey officiate the ceremony, right?"
"Yeah, Gail talked to him a few days ago and he jumped at the opportunity so that's another thing checked off the list," she nodded happily.
"You don't feel weird having an EFT officer marry you guys?"
"No I think it's kind of funny actually. I think Gail is secretly hoping someone gets out of line so she can sick Bailey on them," Holly laughed, "like if Nick tries to object or something."
Ollie chuckled once again.
"Yeah I think he'll keep everyone on their best behavior," he said, "How long before the wedding now?"
"Three months," Holly replied taking a deep breath, knowing they still had so many things to do.
"Wow, time is flying."
"Tell me about it," she laughed.
"So what's up? What can I do for you, darlin?" Shaw asked bouncing lightly in his chair again.
Holly reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper before pushing it across the desk to him, suddenly looking nervous. Ollie unfolded the slip curiously, his eyes going wide a moment later.
"No, no, no…" he said shaking his head. "This is not a good idea; you don't want to do this."
"Ollie, the worst that can happen is they say no or don't respond at all," Holly reasoned, stepping closer to his desk. "I have to at least try, for Gail."
She knew she wasn't fighting fair by adding the 'for Gail' at the end of her statement, knowing how close the two of them were. This was very important to her and if he wouldn't help her she'd find another way.
She could see the internal battle waging inside of him as he stared at the piece of paper, knowing she was asking a lot of him. After a moment of contemplation Shaw sighed heavily and turned to his computer, making a few key strokes before plucking a pen from his drawer and scribbling something down. He tossed his pen beside the keyboard, refolded the paper, and handed it back to Holly.
"You didn't get that from me," he said in a stern, fatherly tone and Holly nodded. Shaw rose from his desk and stepped around to stand in front of the brunette before continuing. "I know you're doing this for Gail, I get that, but just be careful. That could blow up in your face…"
"I know," Holly replied with a sad nod of her head before smiling reassuringly. "I'm not going to push; just extending the offer...it seems like the right thing to do."
Oliver held her gaze for a moment, nodding his head. He respected what she was trying to do and it showed how much she loved Gail, but it still worried him. The number of things that could go wrong were endless and so for his friend's sake, he prayed it worked out.
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Dov and Chris were having a relatively uneventful day. They had made a few traffic stops here and there and walked through the park, but for the most part it had been pretty quiet.
"So, what are you thinking for lunch?" Chris asked when they stopped at a red light.
"It's Tamale day," Dov replied happily, glancing out the window as the radio on the dashboard squawked to life.
"All available units in the area of 8th and Clark, we have reports of a male assaulting an unarmed female, please respond," the dispatcher's voice came through.
"10-4 central, 15-03 responding," Dov replied as Diaz flicked on the lights and rolled through the intersection, making a right onto Buchannan and flooring it.
"15-05 to 15-03, we're approaching from the south end," Collins's voice reported a moment later.
"15-01 coming from the east," McNally chimed in.
"10-4," Dov said.
"Really?" Chris sighed, rolling his eyes as they quickly approached the fighting couple. "It's Red, again."
"Who's Red?" Epstein asked, with a puzzled look on his face.
"He's an area pimp…and I'm willing to bet that's one of his girls," Diaz said, nodding to the woman being slapped as they screeched to a halt. Red looked up at the sound of the squealing tires and took off running when he saw it was the cops. Dov jumped out of the cruiser before it even came to a complete stop and started giving chase.
"I'll stay with her," Chris yelled as he hopped out of the squad and ran over to the weeping woman lying on her side with a torn t-shirt and bloody lip. "It's ok ma'am, you're going to be all right."
Ahead of him, Collins whipped around the corner, quickly gaining on Diaz.
"Dispatch I need an ambulance to this location. Be advised the suspect is about 6 feet tall, about 220 pounds, wearing a red t-shirt and baggy jeans, goes by the alias of Red," Diaz said over the radio. "Nick swing around to 7th and try to head them off, Dov's on foot,"
"Got it," Collins replied and made a hard left.
"Stop! Police!" Dov shouted, running after Red. "Stop right there!"
Red didn't so much as hesitate; instead he took a left and headed down the alley, knocking over a few garbage cans as he went. Dov quickly rounded the corner a moment later, jumping over the receptacles as Red hopped a fence at the end of the alley.
"Heading west on Arthur," Dov reported, climbing the fence. As he landed he heard rapid footsteps approaching and quickly drew his gun spinning around.
"Woah, woah, woah! It's me!" Chloe said, holding her hands up in front of her and Epstein quickly lowered his weapon.
"Who are we after?" she asked.
"Chris said it was some guy named Red," Dov replied, taking a few quick steps down the block.
"Probably beating one of his girls again," Chloe said and turned towards the street and Dov idly wondered how everyone but him knew who this guy was. "Keep heading that way, I'll try to head him off on King."
Dov and Chloe took off in their separate directions once again. As Epstein neared another alley the sound of a rolling glass bottle caught his attention. He redrew his weapon and slowly entered the dingy cramped alleyway behind an apartment complex.
Forty yards in, his radio came to life nearly causing him to jump out of his skin.
"This is Peck, I have the suspect in sight in the courtyard of the Meadowbrook Apartments," Gail's voice sounded and Dov took off once again, right behind the location in question.
"Entering Meadowbrook Apartments from 7th," he said into his radio as Collins pulled to a stop at the curb, following him inside. Dov raced down the first-floor hall, turning corner after corner. The pair ran past a set of windows looking into a grassy courtyard and found Red on his knees with Gail a few yards away holding him at gunpoint.
"There, Gail's got him," Nick said and they took off for the nearest exit, the door swinging open into the cool breeze.
"Keep your hands on your head," Peck ordered sternly as Chloe entered the courtyard a half a step ahead of the boys and immediately holstered her weapon in favor of her cuffs. With Nick grabbing one wrist and pulling Red's arm behind his back Chloe slapped the first cuff on followed by the second.
"Dispatch, this is 15-03…" Dov panted, pausing to take another breath, "suspect in custody."
"You should've stopped back at the park, Red. Now you're looking at resisting arrest on top of your original assault charge," Nick said, helping the pimp stand up and beginning to search their suspect.
"Man, I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't know it was you guys, I was scared," Red said looking between the officers.
"Really? The 'stop, Police' wasn't clue enough for you?" Epstein asked, as Collins' hand hesitated at Red's waistband.
"What do we have here?" Nick asked, lifting the pimp's shirt and pulling out a 9mm pistol. "Whoa…"
"Man, that's not mine," Red claimed and Dov chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation.
"Really? Who's is it then?" Epstein asked, already knowing where this line of questioning was going, suddenly very thankful that Red hadn't made an attempt to draw the gun on them.
"I don't know," the pimp shrugged. "But it ain't mine."
"Did you not dress yourself this morning?" Nick asked once Gail had ejected the magazine and cleared the breach.
Diaz opened the door on the east side of the courtyard with Andy stepping in behind him.
"The cruisers out front to transport him," Diaz said, thumbing towards the front of the complex. Gail walked over and handed him Red's gun.
"How's the woman?" the blonde asked before stepping through the door.
"A little banged up, but she'll be ok," he answered sounded relieved and watched as Collins marched their prisoner out towards the squad.
"Nothing like a little excitement before lunch," Chloe said, patting Dov on the back as he took a puff from his inhaler. "You ok?"
He nodded his head, stuffing the device back into his cargo pocket, his cheeks still a bit flushed.
"More like a lot of paperwork before lunch," he replied with a huff, following the others out towards the cars.
All Dov wanted to do was eat, but now that would have to wait a little while longer.
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"Is Oliver coming?" Gail asked as she and the boys entered the cantina to join their friends for their weekly lunch tradition.
Tamales was a small, hole in the wall authentic Mexican restaurant nestled in the business district downtown. It was one of those places where if you didn't know it was there you'd drive right passed it, making it a cozy favorite amongst locals. The small group of officers often found themselves here for dinner and margaritas before heading over to the Penny for a nightcap so they were no strangers to the Hispanic family that ran the restaurant.
"No, he said he had some reviews to catch up on," Dov replied as he waved to one of the cooks through the kitchen window, most of the staff knowing them now on a first name basis.
"What about Holly?" Chris asked, pulling out the chair next to Nash.
"I don't know, she's supposed to text and let me know," the blonde replied, tossing her phone on the table before pulling off her jacket and taking a seat across from Traci. "She was swamped when I talked to her earlier."
"After what went down on Remington Ave. last night I can't say I'm surprised," Traci said, shaking her head. "The poor lab is going to be bogged down with that mess for days."
"Speaking of, what the hell happened down there?" Chris asked the detective; subconsciously leaning in closer like it was some sort of secret.
"From what Steve said it was a drug deal gone bad. Something about a new player in town trying to move in on the Dowling's turf…we all know how that ends," Traci replied, perusing the menu despite already knowing she was getting her usual meal.
"Dumbasses…" Gail trailed off, shaking her head. "Haven't these guys ever watched a movie or something? Don't they know it's going to end badly?" she asked rhetorically.
"You know that must be a Peck thing because your brother said pretty much the same thing when his phone went off this morning," Nash commented and Gail dropped her menu flat on the table, glaring at Traci. "That man does not like to be woken up that early."
"Peck's are generally not morning people," Chris said with a smirk and a shrug.
"Are you trying to make me lose my appetite?" the blonde asked and Traci gave her a quizzical look, not quite following. "You and my brother…in bed…together…gross…"
"You were the one who suggested I get back on the horse after all," Nash said, leaning back in her chair and giving Gail a mock challenging stare.
"Ugh don't remind me," Peck replied rolling her eyes.
"Who has a horse?" Nick asked as he and Chloe joined the group.
"God, take me now," Gail muttered, checking her phone once again as the waitress came over and brought them a couple baskets of chips and salsa.
"Afternoon officers," the waitress said sweetly, glancing around the table as she set their drinks down in front of them.
"Really? Officers?" Chris asked with a smile. "Letty, you know all of us."
"Just showing respect to the uniforms is all," Letty smiled with a shrug. "So, what are you having? The usual?" she asked not bothering to grab a pen or notepad and receiving nods all the way around. "Alright we'll have it out shortly."
"Thanks, Let," Traci called after the girl who gave her a quick wave.
Everyone fell into side conversations, snacking and having a laugh as they tried to relax before continuing on with their shift. Gail's phone buzzed on the table, grabbing her attention.
"Damn…Holly's not coming," Gail said frowning, typing out a quick reply to the doc before dropping the device back onto the table.
"Where's Andy?" Chris suddenly asked noticing the empty seat kitty corner from him.
"She had me drop her off down the street to have lunch with Swarek," Peck answered.
"Awww," Chloe cooed and Gail looked at her sideways. She swore the woman was Walt Disney incarnate.
"I feel like I could eat a cow after that foot chase," Dov said, shoving a salsa filled chip in his mouth.
"Yeah you were really flying there, asthma boy," Gail commented.
"I chased his ass for 4 blocks before you caught him," he replied.
"Yeah, I caught him cuz you couldn't catch up to him to do it yourself," Peck teased and Diaz shrugged indifferently when Dov looked to him for support; Chris couldn't deny that Gail had a point, Red wasn't close to being caught.
"You had just hopped out of the cruiser and had fresh legs, not exactly fair," Epstein slightly whined, looking around the table for help. Chloe rubbed his arm sympathetically.
"Like it would've mattered," Gail commented under her breath as she took a sip of water. She loved poking fun at Dov, especially when he started to get riled up like he was.
"You don't seriously think you're faster than me?" Dov asked skeptically, sitting back in his chair.
"She has been working out a lot more lately," Nick chipped in, secretly knowing he was adding fuel to the fire. He'd seen Gail in the gym nearly every day doing cardio and light weights and had a feeling it had to do with the new K-9 position opening up, but hadn't approached her about it yet.
"Guys, let's dial it back a bit here," Traci piped-in in true motherly fashion, trying to keep the peace. "The important thing is we got another strong-armed pimp off the street before he could do any real harm."
"You want to race?" Dov challenged across the table as if Nash hadn't spoken.
"If you're not scared," Gail replied casually with a shrug. Chris swore he could see Dov's temperature rising and had to fight to keep from smiling, knowing full well Gail was feeding into his friend's competitive nature.
"Let's go," he replied.
After reassuring Letty they were coming right back in, the group of officers found themselves standing in the alley behind the restaurant. Gail and Dov stood at the "starting line" with Nick casually leaning against the building with Traci while Chris and Chloe stood at the other end of the alley near the break in the buildings holding a strip of caution tape between them as a makeshift finish line tape.
"You guys ready?" Chloe called?
"You can still back out," Gail said lowly as Price raised her arm and the pair nodded. "Could say you pulled a muscle earlier…"
"Not a chance," Dov smirked, glancing at her sideways and getting set.
"Go!" Chloe yelled, dropping her arm and the two took off like a shot, the sound of their boots and shifting gun belts filling the narrow space. Their lungs burned and muscles ached as they sprinted down the pavement. The race was incredibly close, but in the end Gail broke through the caution tape a full stride ahead of him.
Epstein and Peck jogged to a stop before they both doubled over trying to catch their breaths; accepting defeat and swallowing his pride, Dov reached out and offered his fist in congratulations which to his surprise Gail gracishly pounded lightly.
"Nice job blondie," he panted, reaching for his inhaler for the second time today.
"Guys! Your food is ready," Letty hollered from the back door of the kitchen and the group made their way back inside.
They spent the next half hour chatting and eating their lunch hungrily while reminiscing about their time together at the academy, the race all but forgotten.
"Ugh, I could go for a nap after that," Dov sighed, pushing his emptying plate into the center of the table as Chloe rested her head on his shoulder, smiling. He turned his head and placed a quick kiss on her forehead.
"Was it the ass-whooping or the food?" Nick asked with a smile.
"The food," Dov replied in mock bitterness.
"I don't know why you do that to yourself every time we come here, you're going to be miserable the rest of the day," Gail chided as Dov loosened his lower vest straps a bit for further emphasis.
"It's so worth it," he replied with a satisfied grin.
"Thank god I don't have to ride with you after all that," Gail said, nodding toward his plate.
"Yay, lucky me," Chris replied and they all joined in to laugh.
Once the bills were paid, they made their way back out to the squad cars.
"Guys, kick ass lunch! I'll see you all at the Penny later," Dov said with a wave and a quick kiss to Chloe's cheek before walking over to the driver's side and opened the door.
"Dude, who said you could drive?" Diaz called out.
"I did because I have the keys," Epstein deadpanned and motioned for Chris to climb in who suddenly looked like a deer in headlights as he realized his partner had swiped the keys from the table without him knowing it.
Tracy and Gail snickered at the boys who carried on like brothers providing them with plenty amusement.
"Are those two ever going to grow up?" Traci asked as they watched them pull away from the curb, Collins and Price doing the same a moment later.
"Not likely," Gail replied with a shake of her head.
"Well at least there's never a dull moment with those two," Traci laughed and Gail nodded.
"Holly and I are trying to have a baby," Gail suddenly said, the rapid change in subject taking Nash by surprise momentarily.
"Yeah Steve mentioned that you guys were thinking about it," Traci replied with a smile.
"We had our consultation with the Invetro doc last week," Peck said lightly.
"Oh wow, I didn't know you guys were actually starting now, that's great though," Nash exclaimed as an ear to ear grin spread across her face.
"Are you ok with Steve offering to help though? I know this is kind of a weird situation, believe me I'm still getting used to it myself," the blonde said, shaking her head as if physically trying to wrap her head around it.
"Yeah why wouldn't I be?"
"Well cuz technically he'll have a child with another woman…my wife," Gail replied, making a face still not liking the way it sounded, but reminding herself to focus on the benefits of Steve being their donor.
"But Gail it's not like that, it's not like I'm going to have a crazy ex to deal with or any of the baggage and complications that comes along with the scenario you're implying, " the detective chuckled, knowing Gail had to be struggling with it. "You and Holly are going to be a mom while Steve and I get to be the cool aunt and uncle who spoils your child rotten, it wouldn't be any different if you didn't know who the donor was," she reasoned, her tone soothing and reassuring.
Gail took a deep breath and let it out.
"What's wrong? Something about this is bothering you," Traci asked, knowing her friend.
"I think I keep getting caught up on the labels and technicalities of it all. Steve is my brother and Holly will be my wife so technically I'm just an aunt or stepmom? Or both…"
"You need to stop, all right? You are going to be that baby's mother just as much as Holly is. It's going to you at the ultrasounds and doctors' appointments, it's going to be you who gets to hear the baby's heartbeat and show off the first ultrasound picture, you're the one in the delivery room supporting Holly. That's you, not Steve or anyone else cuz that's your baby," the detective reasoned. "Besides, you guys don't have to tell anyone who the donor is if you don't want to. For all anyone knows you guys picked someone out of a book."
"That doesn't sound much better," Gail chuckled, clearly relaxing a bit as Traci's words sunk in and realized she was getting hung up on silly stuff. "You're right though."
"You bet your ass I'm right," Traci fired back with a confident smirk. "When do you start?"
"Our first treatment is in a few weeks," Gail answered feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness. "I still have to talk to Steve."
"So before the wedding?"
"Yeah the doctor said it could take a few attempts before we get pregnant," Peck explained.
"Might as well start now then," Traci shrugged.
A comfortable silence settled over them for a moment.
"Are you sure you're ok with this?" Gail asked quickly and Traci bumped shoulders with her, silently telling her to cut it out.
"I'll see you back at the station," the detective laughed and stepped off the curb to her car.
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After Holly's visit, Oliver's day had been relatively quiet.
Luckily for him -and the rest of the division if he were being honest- Duncan Moore had had the day off which easily translated into him having a relaxed and mostly stress free day. Ollie didn't know what to do with the kid, part of him wanted to rip the white shirt from his own chest and trade it in for the comfortable blue patrol uniform and train the young officer himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust McNally to do it, it was just that Duncan was proving to be more of a challenge than expected; Moore's step-dad being the Chief of Police certainly wasn't helping matters either.
Oliver understood the challenges and pressures that came along with being the offspring of police royalty, hell he'd been Gail Peck's FTO for a good chunk of her rookie year and she'd turned out to be one of his best people. Duncan's own FTO, Andy McNally was another shining example of a second-generation officer who was thriving, she was relatable and while a bit scatter brained at times was a damn fine cop to learn from. So the 65 million dollar question was why wasn't Duncan getting it?
Naturally officers right out of the academy thought they knew it all, that was a given, but while the academy taught them what they needed to know procedurally and legally it failed to teach them about the realities of the streets. Times had changed, no longer did children run to the curbs to wave at them when they drove by; nowadays people would rather spit at them then talk to them. Trying to find witnesses to the crimes being committed was becoming more and more difficult now that "being a snitch" was prevalent in society. The concept of not helping the police catch who was committing these heinous crimes which only aided in the continual harm of their neighborhood baffled Oliver to no end.
It was a mixture of multiple factors and overconfidence that were hindering Moore from becoming the officer he had the potential to be and if things didn't change soon he was going to have to escalate things up the brass. He didn't want to and knew it wouldn't look good on him or his division, but if it meant keeping his fellow officers and his city safe he would.
"Hey, you got a minute?" Gail asked, poking her head into Staff Sergeant Shaw's office. Oliver looked up from the report he was reading and eagerly waved her in.
"Dear God yes, please come in," Oliver said tossing the papers aside and rubbing his eyes wearily. "I can't look at that another second, Duncan is going to be the death of me…"
"Or one of us…" she said slipping into one of the chairs in front of his desk and Ollie sighed. "It's that bad, huh?"
"I wouldn't say bad, but he's certainly not good," he answered vaguely. "I don't remember you guys being like this. Sure you all had your blunders and mishaps, but not like this…" he tapped the offending file with distain. "Anyways, what's going on darlin'?" Oliver asked, his face brightening as he folded his hands on the desktop giving the blonde his full attention.
Gail sat nervously and actually forgot for a split second why she'd swung by on her way out to begin with. In her head, she knew what she wanted to ask him, but somewhere along the way the words were lost. She tried to will her brain and her mouth to get on the same page as she nervously swiveled side to side in the chair.
'Why am I more nervous to ask him this than I was to ask Holly to marry me?' she thought briefly.
Oliver blinked a few times before raising his brows, feeling a sense of déjà vu after having Holly in here earlier that same morning.
Gail rang her fingers together before slapping her hands on the arm rests, taking the plunge before she lost her nerve all together.
"Look I'm not good at this sort of thing so I'm just going to throw it out there," she began as Oliver looked at her with concern. "I'd really like it if you would give me away."
"Peck I've been trying to give you away for years, hell I've even tried paying someone to take you, but…" Oliver stopped when he saw how serious she was. He took a deep breath and absently pushed at a pen on his desk. "Gail I'm flattered, really I am, but don't you think Steve is more the man for the job? I don't want to step on anyone's toes or anything…"
"No Steve is my best man, I wanted to make him my maid of honor, but he's refusing to wear the dress. He gets the hard jobs like putting together my bachelorette party and making sure I don't drink too much before the ceremony. You, my little donut buddy, only have to make sure I don't fall on my face on the way down the aisle. That's it," Gail said, brushing her hands together simply. "After that you get to hang with Celery and drink my free booze."
"Wouldn't I be able to do that anyways?"
"Technically yes," Gail replied and watched him mulling it over, deciding to go with a different approach, one she knew he couldn't refuse. "It would really mean a lot to me, Oliver," she said sincerely, unleashing the full weight of her blue eyes.
Oliver groaned and waved his hand.
"No, no, don't do that, don't give me the Peck puppy dog eyes, that's not fair," he said holding his hand up as if to shield himself from them. He dropped his arm onto his desk with a heavy thud and accompanying sigh.
"All right, I'll do it," he said causing Gail to break out her biggest, cheekiest smile she reserved for only her favorite people. She jumped out of her chair and quickly rounded his desk, pulling him into a surprising hug.
"Thank you Ollie," she said rubbing his shoulder and giving him a squeeze. Shaw smiled and squeezed her back.
"You betcha," he replied before she released him from the embrace and practically skipped to the door. "Are you and the soon-to-be-Mrs. coming to the Penny tonight? I think you owe me a drink."
"No not tonight, we have to get the invitations finished and sent out," Gail answered with a pout, not looking forward to the feat ahead.
"Ok fine, I guess I'll have one for you," Oliver said, his tone making it sound like it was a chore and she giggled.
"Hey Peck," he called, his tone now serious as her hand rested on the handle and she turned around to face him. "I would've done it even without the puppy dog eyes."
Gail smiled and nodded her head.
"I know cuz I'm awesome," she smirked before heading out into the bullpen.