Chapter 25

Gail and Holly's Town Home - 5 am on first day of work for both

Holly's POV

When the alarm goes off I can't help but groan and hear Gail curse. I guess it's going to take a while for us to get used to punching the clock again. I roll over and turn the loud thing off and turn to my love. I smile and say, "Well love, the day is finally here. You ready."

She grabs my hand and says, "As ready as I'll ever be. You ready?"

"I guess. Do you want the shower first or do you want to get the coffee going?" I say as I begin to worry. This is going to be a hard day. Harder than I thought. We are both on the same 12 hr. shift so that might help. At least I'll have my work to try to keep my mind from totally blowing up her phone or going to the station to look for her. I don't know how long it is going to take for me to stop being so petrified that she might not come back to me.

I get so lost in my thoughts that I don't notice that Gail was talking to me. I shake my head to try to get the bad thoughts out of it and ask "I'm sorry baby, what did you say?"

"I asked you what was wrong?" Gail says softly.

"Oh nothing new. Why don't you get into the shower while I start the coffee?" I say trying to change the subject. There's no point in talking about the same thing again.

Besides I'm pretty sure she knows what's wrong.

"Holly, it's going to be okay. I'll text you a lot and I'll go to the morgue for lunch. We just need to get a routine going again." Gail says confidently.

"I know sweetheart. I'll try not to be so clingy." I say softly

Gail just smiles and says, "I just hate worrying you. But well get through this. I promise to be safe and to always to do everything I possibly can to come home to you."

"I know Gail. I can't ask you for anything else than that." I say while trying to act like everything is ok.

She kisses my cheek and jumps out of bed. My mind from worrying about her safety to the gutter in about a minute. She was still naked and looked so beautiful. She quickly catches omen and smirks, "You're head just went to gutter, right?"

"Oh shut up. Get in the shower and I'll start into the coffee." I say as I get up from bed. I turn away from her so that I can stop leering her and look for my robe.

I hear her laugh and say as she walks to the bathroom, "You're just like a teenage boy

sometimes."

With that she was gone. I went to the kitchen and started the coffee. A few minutes later I heard the shower stop. I grabbed a cup of coffee and took it back to the bedroom. As she got dressed and drank her coffee I took my shower and got ready. By 6:45 am we were in the precinct parking lot. I was looking straight ahead trying to get a grip on my emotions.

She was in full uniform and my heart kept beating so hard. I always thought she looked so hot when she was uniform. I still hadn't had the pleasure of stripping her out of it and was really looking out of it. It made her walk with such a sexy, cocky swagger.

But I was so nervous. I didn't want to let her go in but I knew I didn't have a choice. I just kept saying in my mind that I needed to get a hold of myself and that nothing bad was going to happen. I had something for her. It wasn't anything special but I thought that maybe just maybe it might make me feel better. At this point I was desperate for any kind of reassurance I could get.

Gail jars me from my thoughts when she says softly, "I need to go or I'm going to be late to parade."

This was it. I grab her hand and as fish for something in my pocket I say, "I have something for you."

She frowns a little and asks, "What?"

"Listen, I'm not terribly religious but my grandma and my mom did instill some beliefs in me. And ever since I met you I always said a small prayer after we would say good night. I'd prayed to him. Asking him to keep you safe and to give me the chance to see you again. To protect you. You probably going to think that this is silly or dumb but I thought it might help me feel a little better. I don't know." I ramble as I grab her hand and put the chain and medal into it."

She looks at it for a minute and looks up at me waiting for an explanation. I take a deep breath and say, "It's a St. Michael medal. He's the patron saint for police officers. He's said to keep you guys safe." I mumble.

Gail smiles and while looking at it says, "That's very sweet baby. I'll always carry it with me always. I promise."

I take a deep breath in relief. I smile and say, "Thank you."

She leans in and kisses me and says, "I got to go Holly."

I just sigh and say, "Ok, have a good day and text me a lot."

She kisses me again and gets out of the car. I watch her walk into the precinct and did what I have since I met her. I prayed for all I was worth that she would come back safely to me.

15th Precinct Women's Locker room - After parade

Gail's POV

It feels so good to be back. I almost got all my gear ready and today I don't even mind that I got partnered with Price. As I start rummaging my bag I hear someone come into the locker room. I assume it's Price so I call out, "I'll be there in a minute. Go wait in the car Price."

To my surprise I hear someone say, "Can I talk to you, Gail?"

I turned around surprised. She was the last person I expected to see. I cross my arms and ask, "What do you want Miller? I got to get out of here."

"I wanted to apologize for the way I acted." Miller mumbles.

She doesn't sound sincere. She keeps leering me and when she meets my gaze I can't help but notice how her green eyes look so cold. Nothing like Holly's. In Holly's I can see love, warmth and sometimes even mischief sometimes. But I don't want any more problems. I just want some peace but I still can't help and say, "You'll have to forgive me if I don't believe you."

"I don't blame you. But I've given it some thought and I over reacted." Miller continues to mumble.

"Over reacted? That's your excuse for stalking me and then trying to barge into my hospital room. I tried to be honest with you and not lead you on. I only went out with you to get my mother off my back." I say angrily.

"Look are you going to get over it or not?" Miller snaps. It's obvious she didn't like what I just but I could care less.

I turn back to my locker and say, "Just stay away from me and stop stalking me. Stay away from Dr. Stewart as much as possible and let us live in peace. We're both professionals so I don't see why we can't work together."

"Fine," Miller mumbles and then I heard walk out.

I continue to rummage through my things looking for a particular item but I'm having no luck. My journal. I know I had it the last day I was at work but I couldn't remember if I had left it in my locker or took it with me on patrol. I think hard and then it dawns on me that maybe Steve, Oliver or Tracy have it. Damn, for their own safety they better not have read it. Because if they have they are so dead.

I slam my locker hard and go to meet Price. At the moment I have to go on patrol and Steve and Tracy are not in yet. I'll corner them on my lunch hour. One of them has to have it and if I had to take a guess it's Steve. I can't help but mumble under my breath, "You better haven't lost it or read it pippy long stocking. Or I might make it impossible for you to make me an aunt."

Holly's Lab - Later that morning

"So how long have you been doing this?" Officer Romano asks.

She's sitting in the same chair did the first day they met and was basically doing the same thing. Playing twenty questions.

"About 10 years." Holly mumbles as she looks through her microscope. Stephen wanted her to take it easy the first few days so he wasn't sending out on crime scenes. She was just doing reports and running tests.

"How many years did you have to spend in school?" Ashley asks.

"A long time. I had to become and MD first and then continued on to the pathology residency. But I skipped a couple of grades in high school so I got head start." Holly says absentmindedly. She couldn't help glancing at her phone. Gail had texted that she was fine and that Chloe was driving her nuts because she just would just not shut up.

"So why didn't you just practice medicine?" Ashley asks. Honestly she was surprised that Holly was going a long with her interrogatory. After Hannah found out that she actually got assigned to the morgue on the first day they went back to work she ordered her to find out what she could about the brunette.

"Because in medicine I can't heal everybody and I just couldn't stand to see someone suffering. Even though I am surrounded by death at least I know that their suffering has stopped and I like the aspect of solving puzzles and more importantly giving the dead a voice." Holly answers.

Ashley takes a long hard look at Holly and can totally see what Gail saw in her. Her dark eyes were telling, the tan skin made you wonder what it feel to run your fingers over it and she was so long and lean. That smile was something special. Not only was she beautiful and brilliant but she also had substance. She cared about people and was genuinely nice. She didn't have airs of superiority like Hannah did.

"Did you hear me Officer Romano?" Holly asks as she snaps me out my thoughts. It's been sometime since someone had really taken over her thoughts like Holly just had.

She tries to recover quickly and says, "Sorry I was thinking about a case and please call me Ashley. What did you say?"

"I was asking you when you were going to lunch?" Holly smiles as she keeps glancing at her phone. It was obvious that she was getting texts from Peck. Her face would just light up when her phone would go off.

"Oh after you take yours. I think Collins is going to relieve me." Ashley smiles ruefully.

"You might want to take yours first because I really have no idea when I'll be taking mine." Holly says.

"It doesn't really matter. I have my orders." Ashley answers quickly. She knew that Holly was waiting for Peck. She was hoping that maybe after Peck came for lunch she could broch the subject she really wanted to know about. Now she was curious about what Holly saw in Gail. She'd been an officer for a while now and even she knew what kind of reputation Gail had in the past. The ice queen. Gorgeous but cold and unfeeling.

Ashley is caught off guard when Gail walks into the room. Gail frowns and simply says, "Romano."

"Hey Peck." Ashley responds with a smirk. Gail was now glaring at her and her eyes seemed cold. She probably just caught her staring at Holly but she could care less.

Holly's head immediately pops up and she grins, "Hey love. Why didn't you text me you were on your way?"

Ashley could see the immediate change in Holly. Her smile just got even better. Gail was getting just a breath taking lopsided grin and it apparently had an impact on her. She turns her full attention to Holly and she smiles shyly and says, "I brought lunch from your favorite sandwich shop and wanted to surprise you."

Romano couldn't believe that Holly could smile any bigger. She watches her go over to Gail and kiss her on the cheek and say, "Thank you love. Why don't we go to my office to have lunch?"

Peck just nods and Holly turns to her and says happily, "I'll be back in an hour."

"Ok." Ashley answers as Gail gives her another hard look.

Holly doesn't seem to notice. She just grabs Gail's hand and pulls her out of the lab.

Holly's POV - Holly's office

As soon as the door closes I grab the food put it on my desk and I cup her face and kiss her. God, I've missed her. She leans back after a couple of minutes and whispers, "We need to eat now, baby. I need to do something else before my lunch hour is over."

I pull back as I continue to cup her face I ask, "Is something wrong, love?"

"No, everything is fine. I just have an errand to run." Gail answer shyly.

I can't but smile and kiss her one last time. As we sit down at my desk and begin to eat I ask, "So how's your day going? Any interesting happen?"

"Good for the most part. Other than for getting partnered with our resident Disney Princess it's good to be back. The only interesting thing that's happened is that after parade Miller apologized for being a psycho and stalking me. How about yours?" Gail answers smiling.

My head pops up and I say surprised, "She apologized? Really?"

"Yep. But I don't know if I should believe her or not. At this point I want to take her at face value. I'm tired of all the drama. I told her just to leave us alone and that we were both professionals and that it's possible for us to work together without any issues." Gail explains.

I can't help but frown and say, "I still don't trust her."

Gail grabs my hand gives it a squeeze and says softly, "Let's just see what happens. Maybe she finally got a clue. Tell me about your day? How's it going?"

"Good. Just getting into the rhythm of things. But like you I'm glad to be back." I answer still thinking about Miller. I hope Gail is right and that she finally took no for an answer.

After we chit chat for a few more minutes and we finish our lunch she asks, "So what do you think about Romano? I don't really know her. She transferred in after the shooting"

"She's nice. I've never dealt with her before." I answer her honestly.

Gail turns me so that I'm facing her and pulls me into her as she frowns she mumbles, "I caught her checking you out."

"Gail baby, you must be mistaken. But even if she was looking at me I'm sure it didn't mean anything. Her job is pretty boring. I'm really not that exciting or interesting." I smile as I wrap my arms around her neck.

"That's what you think." Gail mumbles as she tries not to meet my gaze.

Turn her head so that she meets it whether she likes it or not and whisper, "Only you okay. I don't have eyes for anyone else."

Gail just smiles softly and says before kissing me again, "Love you."

After a couple of minutes we say our goodbyes, she kisses me again and she's gone.

15th Precinct - Steven Peck's Office

Gail's POV

I really hope that this is going to be quick and painless. I knock on the door and I hear him call out, "Come in."

I'm glad to see that Tracy is already there. Saves time from having to hunt her down if he tells me she has it. I quickly say, "Where is it Steven? My journal. You must have it. I can't find it anywhere and I remember having it on the day of the shooting."

I see the color drain from both their faces. Well shit, this isn't going to be good. Steve begins to do what he always does when he gets nervous. He rubs the back of his head and stammers, "Ummm...well...uh..."

I glare at him and say seriously, "My lunch hour is up. I don't have time for this. Start talking in complete sentences."

Steve still can't look at me and continues to stammer stupidly so I turn to Tracy and ask, "Where is it Tracy? I got to get back on patrol."

She grimaces and mumbles only one word, "Holly."

I can feel my face lose all color. This can't be happening. I wrote stuff in there I thought I'd take to my grave. How could they betray me like that? I glare at them both and demand angrily, "Tell me what the hell happened and how did Holly end up with it? How could either of you do that?"

Steve finally recover the art of completing full sentences and says nervously, "I gave it to her when she landed in Toronto."

"Why?!" I shriek angrily.

Steve looks down and says quietly, "Because she needed to know what was in there, Gail."

"And how did you know what was in there! You read it didn't you!?" I yell angrily. My face feels so hot right now. It's been a while since I've been this angry. I can't believe he did that.

"Some of it." Steve responds nervously.

"Listen Gail. I understand why you're so angry but that journal saved both of you a lot of heartache." Tracy explains softly.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" I continue to yell angrily.

"When you were in the hospital. Miller came in with our mother saying that she was

your girlfriend and she tried to get Holly kicked out of your hospital room with our mother's help. If she hadn't read it Holly might have believed them and left. That journal helped her understand what was really going on with you." Steve says quietly.

I continue to glare at them and since I'm incapable of lowering my voice I continue to yell, "I'm never going to forgive you for this! You hear me!"

As I open the door to stomp out I run into Oliver. He takes one look at me and asks, "What's wrong darlin'?"

I know he knew. He had to. So, I glare at him and say angrily, "I know you guys gave my journal to Holly. You had no right Oliver. None of you did."

I pushed past him without giving him a moment to respond and just went back on patrol. As soon as I am in the car I turn to Price and say with my most menacing voice, "Quiet Price. Just quiet for the rest of day if you know what the hell is good for you."

She frowns but the look on my face told her I was dead serious and I was furious. She just nodded and we went back on patrol. I'll deal with Holly later. I can't believe she didn't tell me she had it. That she read it.

Holly's Lab - 2 hours after lunch

Why isn't she responding? I've sent her like five texts and nothing. My stomach is in a knot and I just have a feeling that something is wrong. Very wrong. Just as I'm going to dial her number my phone goes off. But it isn't who I wanted to talk to. I pick up quickly, hoping that the conversation would be short and say, "Hey Tracy, what's up?"

"I'm calling to give you a heads up. Gail is on the war path." Tracy says sadly. Why is she sad? Did something happen to Gail? No, no, no. I just saw her. She was fine. Happy. What the hell happened?

I frown and ask pleadingly, "What? Why? Is Gail okay? Did something happen to her? Just tell me what's wrong?"

"Holly she knows." Tracy responds quietly.

I frown harder and wish would just stop talking in riddles. I plead again, "What's wrong? What does she know? Stop talking in riddles."

"She came looking for her journal, Holly. She knows you have it, that we read some of it and I'm sure she assumes that you read it all. She's beyond angry and feels like we betrayed her." Tracy explains sadly.

I just close my eyes and can't say another word. Well that explains the radio silence. I should have told her as soon she got out of the hospital. She must be so hurt and beyond angry. How the hell am I going to fix this? This is going to be bad.