A/N: Here, have another. Chapter 21 was uploaded yesterday so don't miss it by accident.
"She shoots but never misses, stare down passin' traffic, go carefully, carefully, oh, airstream driver"
"Car!" Gail slid her hands over the dashboard as a gleeful smile played across her face. "I missed you, yes I did," she ran her hands around the steering wheel and bounced up and down, adjusting her butt in the seat. Gail pushed the key in the ignition and reveled when the engine roared to life. She turned the radio on and found the loudest station she could before firing up the seat warmer and rolling down all the windows. The late afternoon sun peeked through the buildings and beat down through the windshield. Gail flipped the visor down, snatching her sunglasses, and placed them carefully on the bridge of her nose. She threw on her seatbelt, clicking it into place, and finally pulled out of her parking spot and onto the open road.
Gail wasn't one of those people that loved to drive, especially around the city. Driving up around the cottage was different, but the city was full of traffic, red lights, stop signs, and bicyclists. Put some people behind the wheel day or night and they could drive for days and love it. Gail wasn't one of those people; generally she could take it or leave it. Depending on who her partner was she did like to drive at work though. Driving gave her a distraction from whatever Chloe was blabbering on about, and sometimes Dov could get a little too fast and a little too furious; it gave her control, an upper hand in the partnership. However, especially when she was off duty and couldn't use lights or sirens to force other cars to give way, Gail was perfectly content to be a passenger, especially if she could maintain control of the radio. However, being grounded for the past three weeks had really gotten old. Gail wasn't really a subway or city bus kind of person. Sure, every once in a while she relished the opportunity to witness some of Toronto's weirdest in action without having to arrest them, but she really maxed out at about three rides a month. Gail reveled in independence, and not being able to drive for three weeks really impeded that.
Gail leaned to her right as the car curved around the on ramp to the highway. She adjusted the visor as the sun had fallen lower in the sky, assaulting her eyes. Gail's upbringing, and line of work provided her with an unrivaled knowledge of Toronto's alleyways, roads, highways, and byways. Well, unrivaled except for Steve, maybe. Her mother didn't make growing up easy, that's for sure, but one thing Gail would never complain about is the geography that was instilled in her. You could drop her blindfolded anywhere within city limits and she'd be able to find her way home, or to the nearest police station, and she'd been able to do that by the age of fourteen. Really, Gail's dislike for driving really stemmed from other drivers. Other drivers caused accidents, roadblocks, and traffic. Traffic is such a mindless waste. Gail had become an expert at avoiding traffic, knowing the shortest and most efficient route from almost anywhere in the city to almost anywhere else in the city. Having to resort to jumping on the highway always seemed like it was a little bit of a loss. Having to go so far out of your way but having it actually be the quickest route created a sense of nagging behind Gail's jaw, and discontent in her very soul. But, she found herself not caring as she hopped on the Don Valley Parkway, quickly needing to slow well below the speed limit to accommodate the late afternoon volume of motorists. She kept the windows down and turned on the heat a bit, October was over halfway gone, after all.
"Hey," Holly looked up from the computer screen when she heard footsteps cross the threshold into her office. Her voice was one part surprise, one part delight, and one part Holly, and it made Gail smile without even realizing. Holly pushed off from the desk before rising from her chair as Gail made her way farther into the small room. "So it went well then?" Holly noticed that, for the first time in weeks, Gail wasn't wearing her sling. She didn't say anything though, she just walked into Holly's space, threw her arm's around Holly's waist, and held her impossibly close. At first it was almost hard for Holly to breathe but Gail loosened her grip a smidge. She nuzzled her face into the dip at the base of Holly's neck and breathed her in. She smelled a little bit like formaldehyde but Gail chose to ignore it. She concentrated on the lavender of Holly's shampoo, and the cocoa butter of her moisturizer. Holly ran her hands up and down Gail's back, "you okay?" She whispered in Gail's ear as her hands continued their path up and down.
"Great," Gail smiled into Holly's neck.
Holly's hands stilled at Gail's lower back, "are you sure?" She dropped a kiss below Gail's ear.
"What?" Gail dug into Holly's neck with her nose, "am I not allowed to hug you anymore?"
"You're always allowed," Holly smiled and twisted her neck to kiss the side of Gail's head, "but you usually don't come all the way uptown to do it."
"Well I haven't been allowed," Gail countered, pouting slightly as she kept her hold around Holly's waist.
Holly chuckled and leaned her chest back so she could see Gail's face, "says who?"
"Says Doctor No Hugs who made me wear that stupid sling for the past two and a half weeks," Gail pouted and pinched the back of Holly's hip to drive home her point.
Holly cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips as she pondered Gail's argument, "you have a point there," she concluded. "So it went well? She said you could stop wearing it?"
"No," Gail dropped her head to one side, "I'm disobeying doctor's orders because it felt so good when the medics popped my shoulder back in, and I really want them to have to do it again."
Holly pursed her lips and looked at Gail firmly.
"Yes," Gail admitted with a huff and a laugh, "she said I could stop wearing it, and I'm going in to see the doctor on Monday. Happy?"
"Very," Holly smiled brightly; accomplished.
"So can you leave yet?" Gail's face exploded with childlike excitement as she grabbed at Holly's biceps. She really did look like a kid in a candy store. The novelty of a few straight weeks of vacation had really worn off, especially on days like today when all of Gail's friends were working. Her eyes sparkled, her eyebrows raised hopefully. Holly looked a little apprehensive so Gail batted her eyelashes, "it's a Friday and it's five o'clock."
Holly worried on her bottom lip before letting a smile escape, "give me twenty minutes."
"Great," Gail let go of Holly's arms, spinning around on her heels before dropping herself down in the chair across from Holly's desk, "we can use your fireplace to burn the stupid synthetic thing after dinner."
"She shoots but never misses, stare down passin' traffic, go carefully, carefully, oh, airstream driver"
- Gomez "Airstream Driver"
A/N: Back to work soon? I wonder how that's gonna work out...
You're great.