Author's Note: So the shit really hits the fan in this chapter. You probably saw this coming. But rest assured, I don't consider it a spoiler to tell you that Holly and Gail aren't going to break up. But this is a drama, so there will be drama.
Two hours into her shift and Gail no longer felt reluctant to go on desk duty. In fact, she wished she could be sitting at the front desk right now, answering inane calls from the public. Because Gerald (he didn't deserve to be called Duncan right now) had not stopped talking since they had left the station. He started out by apologizing for his behavior at the bank. He admitted that he was nervous and had wrongly tried to use fear as a way to get the guy to put down his gun. He droned on and on about how he knew better and he wanted to learn so he could be a good cop so his stepfather would be proud. The only time Gail felt even an inkling of sympathy was when he told her how much pressure he felt to live up to the commissioner's expectations.
But even so she couldn't give him a pass that easily. He had put an entire bank full of people at risk and he hadn't waited for his partner. Police officers didn't exist in a vacuum; they needed each other. You had to have your partner's back and you had to believe that your partner had yours. Duncan had let his desire to prove himself cloud his judgment and as a result put numerous civilians, his partner and other officers in danger. Duncan would have to do a lot more than apologize to earn back her respect.
"Ugh, could you just give it a rest for a while? I get it. You screwed up and you feel bad. Instead of talking about it, just do good police work," Gail snapped as she rubbed her forehead. She had been silent for quite a long time, her nausea deterring her from talking, even though she had piled up a whole list of insulting jibes in her mind. But now she was developing a headache and just needed the younger officer to shut up for a while.
Duncan glanced quickly at Gail. "Yeah, ok. Sorry. It's just…I'm not a bad guy."
"Oh god, do we really have to do this?" Gail asked snidely. At Duncan's silence, she huffed and continued. "Ok fine, but you're buying lunch to make up for what I'm about to say. No one thinks you are a bad person, Duncan. It's just that no one really trusts that you have their back. You don't follow procedure, you make stupid mistakes and in this job, those mistakes could get someone killed. So you might be a good person, and I'm not saying you are, but you have to be a good cop too."
"Right. So how do I show people that?" Duncan asked obliviously.
Gail sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just do your job the way you were trained to do it. And watch out for your partner."
"Ok, I can do that. Thanks, Officer Peck." He paused momentarily. "You know, you're kind of scary and really mean and, I mean, sometimes you call me by the wrong name, but I think you're really a nice person under all that."
"Shut up and drive, Gerald," Gail growled. God, he was like a relentless puppy. A desk was sounding more and more appealing all the time.
A few hours later, Holly was updating some files on her computer when she heard her wife in the hallway. She looked up to see the blonde giving orders to Officer Moore as she gestured toward a chair outside of her office.
"You will sit here. You will not move from this chair. You will touch nothing but your lunch and the chair," she barked grumpily.
"What about my feet? They have to touch the floor," Duncan pointed out stupidly as he slumped down into the chair.
Gail glared at the younger officer. "Gerald, I swear to god, I am going to take the fries in that bag and shove them one-by-one into your nose until they fill the empty space in your skull where your brain is supposed to be."
Duncan looked down at his feet. "Right. Sorry. I will sit here and not move."
Gail turned back toward Holly's office, a large bag in her hand. As soon as she was inside, she closed the door, crossed the room to the chair in front of the desk and sat down heavily, holding her head in her hand.
"Rough day with the rookie?" Holly asked with a wince.
The blonde grunted in response. She put the bag she was holding on the desk and started to remove the contents. "Holly, it's very possible I will kill him before he even has a chance to get fired. He would not stop talking for more than ten minutes at a time. He is worse than Chloe."
Holly smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, honey. Just a few more hours though, right?"
Sitting back in her chair without picking up any of her lunch, Gail tilted her head toward the ceiling, closed her eyes and let out a long breath. "Thank god. After just three hours in the car with him, I could not be more ready to go on desk. That's about the only good thing I have to say about that dolt."
Holly unwrapped the sandwich Gail had set in front of her. "Well, that's something, I guess." After taking a bite of her food, she noted Gail's position, her face still pointed up and breathing deeply. "Aren't you going to eat?"
Frustration evident in her voice, Gail frowned, "I'm still feeling kind of nauseous and thanks to Mr. Exposition, I also have a headache."
Holly set her sandwich down on the wrapper and screwed up her face in concern. "Do want to lie down on the couch for a bit? I can get you some Tylenol. You're allowed to take that."
Gail dropped her chin to her chest and shook her head. "No drugs. I know I'm allowed, but I don't want to unless I have to." Gail wasn't a fan of any kind of drug. They always made her feel slightly off so she only took them if she really needed to (or when Holly made her). "But I will take you up on the couch offer." She got up from the chair and spread out on the sofa.
"Did you eat a granola bar earlier?" Holly took another bite of her sandwich, but didn't take her eyes off her wife.
Gail draped her arm over her eyes. "Mmhmm."
Holly frowned. She put her food down, stood from her chair and moved to stand near Gail's head. "Scoot up, honey."
Gail groaned, but sat up so her wife could sit down. When she lay back down, she put her head on Holly's lap. "You should eat your lunch," she said halfheartedly as she rubbed her stomach, hoping it would somehow settle the churning.
"I'll eat it after you leave." Holly put her hands in Gail's hair and started to massage her scalp.
"Mmm. That feels amazing," Gail moaned.
"Careful. Duncan might think we're doing something else in here," Holly smirked.
"He wishes he were lucky enough to hear that," Gail said grumpily, furrowing her brow.
"Ok, let's not talk about him. Just try to relax." She continued to stroke Gail's head in the way she knew helped to calm her wife when she was tense. "Do you think you're just having a little morning sickness? Or is anything else going on?"
"Yeah, I just feel queasy like I did in the beginning. I haven't thrown up yet, but the headache definitely isn't helping," Gail muttered pathetically.
Holly grimaced. She thought they had moved passed the morning sickness and she had been rather relieved when it had seemed to be over. She hated seeing her wife that sick and miserable, especially because there was very little she could do. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I hate seeing you like this."
Gail nodded slightly but didn't respond. She concentrated on relaxing the muscles in her forehead and face, letting a little of the tension seep away as Holly rubbed her fingers over her eyebrows and hairline. She tried to clear her mind of anything other than the sensation of her wife's hands and the faint smell of her soap.
About half an hour passed and Gail felt the ache in her head lessen. Her stomach still hadn't settled, but she was grateful to not have the pain of her headache adding to the queasiness. She pulled her phone from her pocket to look at the time. Her lunch hour was coming to an end. "I have to head back out."
"Do you feel any better?" Holly asked warily. She wasn't happy about Gail being out on patrol when she felt so poorly.
"My headache is nearly gone. Thank you." She moved to sit up, but when she was in an upright position, another wave of nausea passed over her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and put her hand on her stomach.
Holly gripped Gail's elbow. "Are you ok?" She knew the answer before she asked; the paleness of Gail's face telling her everything she needed to know.
"Yeah." Gail took a few more breaths and when she was sure she wasn't going to throw up, she stood from the couch. "I'm ok. I can make it a few more hours."
Holly stood and put a hand on Gail's waist. "Are you sure you should go back out? You just seem like you really don't feel well."
"I feel better than when I got here, thanks to you," Gail smiled weakly. She could see the anxiety on Holly's face so she pulled her into a hug.
"Please, be careful," Holly mumbled into Gail's shoulder.
Gail nodded. "I will. Just a few more hours and you can breathe easy."
Holly sighed and leaned away. She grabbed Gail's cheeks and gave her a light kiss. "I'm going to spoil you this weekend."
Gail smiled a little more convincingly. "I like the sound of that."
"I thought you might," Holly smiled back cheekily. As Gail walked toward the door, Holly gave her a playful tap on the butt. "So hurry up and finish your shift so we can get home."
Gail giggled and spun around to place one more kiss on Holly's cheek. Then she opened the door to find Duncan playing on his phone. "Let's go, Gerald." When Gail didn't stop to wait for him, he scrambled off his chair and hurried to follow behind. "Say goodbye, Gerald."
Duncan froze and turned around to wave. "Oh, uh, bye Holly."
Gail stopped and turned around, fixing Duncan with an icy glare. "Want to try that again?"
Duncan's expression was initially one of confusion before he realized his mistake. "Oh right, sorry. Um, goodbye, Dr. Stewart, ma'am."
Holly chuckled. "Bye, Officers." It made Holly feel slightly better to see how intimidated Duncan was by Gail's chilly demeanor. At least he seemed to listen to her and seemed to want her approval. And anyway, it was only a few more hours. Gail would be ok. What could happen?
Two hours later, Gail was enjoying the sound of the rain on the roof of the squad car. Duncan had seemingly taken Gail's threats of bodily harm to heart and had refrained from talking. The rain was coming down really hard and Duncan had pulled the car over to wait out the worst of the downpour.
With the rain still pounding down, something caught both Gail and Duncan's attention. They had driven around the empty warehouse all day without a single sign of activity. But now, a man was trotting out from one of the entrances toward the fence that surrounded the property.
"You see that?" Duncan asked, excitement in his voice.
"Of course, I'm not blind. We will put it in our report," Gail responded.
The man exited the gate at the fence and then turned around to latch it back. A black object was stuck in the back of his jeans, but it was impossible to make out what it was through the sheets of rain.
"Is that a gun in the back of his pants?" Duncan asked.
"I can't tell. It's raining too hard," Gail mumbled as she squinted.
The man made his way to a car parked just a little ways down the street. He got in and started the engine, headlights flickering on.
"I'm going to follow him," Duncan said as he turned the key in the ignition.
"No, you are not! Our orders are to observe only," Gail barked back.
But Duncan was not paying attention. He put the car in gear, signaled and then pulled out into the street. "We are supposed to drive around. I'm just going to do that."
"Officer Moore, you are not to follow that vehicle. Pull the car over now," Gail raised her voice, trying to leave no room for argument.
Before Duncan had a chance to respond, the car in question sped up and turned onto another street, running a red light in the process.
"He just ran a red light! We have a reason to pull him over now." Duncan put his foot on the gas and accelerated forcefully. He grabbed the radio and pushed the button. "Dispatch, this is 1507, in pursuit of a suspect on Sorauren and Geoffrey…"
Gail clutched the door with one hand and grabbed the radio with the other. "Dispatch, disregard from 1507, Office Moore is ignoring orders from his superior officer." She threw the radio and turned to yell at Duncan. "Officer Moore, pull the car over now! Do not follow that vehicle!"
Duncan turned slightly toward Gail. "He ran a red light! We have a good…" Before he could finish his sentence, he was forced to veer the car sharply to avoid a motorcycle that had moved into the intersection. Duncan was turning the car to the right in order to follow the vehicle through the red light, but he hadn't turned on the lights and also hadn't stopped at the intersection to look for oncoming traffic. When he swerved to avoid the motorcycle, the tires hydroplaned on standing water in the street. He tried to compensate but spun the wheel too drastically causing the car to spin out. The momentum from their speed and the lack of traction on the tires sent the car into a roll.
Gail was still holding onto the door when the car smashed into a light pole, the metal making a sickening crunch. Her head was thrown into the passenger side window just before the glass shattered from the force of the impact. Her seatbelt dug into her lower abdomen, chest and hips. The last thing Gail registered before she blacked out was a searing pain in her head and a cramping in her stomach.
When Gail came to, the first thing she noticed was the throbbing in her skull. She moved her hand up to her head and felt a warm, sticky liquid near her temple. Moving her hand in front of her face, she saw the blood staining her pale fingers. "Unh," she groaned as she took stock of the pain she felt in various parts of her body. The pounding in her head was tremendous and she felt a burning sensation where the seatbelt was touching her shoulder. A sudden spasm shot through her stomach, she gasped and put her hand to her belly. Oh god. The baby.
Adrenaline and fear coursed through her, the pain in her stomach bringing her out of the fog. She turned her head and registered that Duncan's head was slumped forward on his chest. She couldn't see any blood or obvious injuries. "Duncan," she tried, her voice scratchy. "Duncan!" she said again, louder. When he didn't respond, Gail looked at the center console, fumbling around for the radio. Just as she grasped it, she felt another twinge in her belly and held her breath until the pain passed. "Come on, bean. We're gonna be ok."
She pulled the radio up to her mouth. "Dispatch, this is 1507, we need a bus. Officer involved accident at…at…" She couldn't remember where they were. The pain in her head was making it difficult to think. "…use the last location."
Dispatch responded and other nearby officers radioed that they would head their way, but Gail couldn't concentrate. She felt nauseous and she was terrified that she was having contractions. It was way too early for the baby to be born. He was too little to survive.
Other people began to arrive, but Gail was only vaguely aware of their actions. She tried to answer their questions, but mostly responded with moans. As they lifted her from the vehicle, the jostling caused the pain in her head to reach a pinnacle and she rolled to the side of the stretcher and vomited. When she was loaded in the ambulance, she felt someone squeezing her hand, telling her to stay awake. She rolled her head painfully to the left and made out the face of Chris looking down at her with concern.
"Hey, Gail. You're gonna be ok, but you need to stay awake though, alright? You'll be at the hospital in no time." His voice was steady, but she detected a tinge of anxiety there.
"Holly," Gail croaked, just above a whisper.
"We will call her. She will be there," Chris tried to reassure her.
"No. You. Go get her." It was difficult to form full sentences, the throbbing in her head preventing her from even keeping her eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time.
"Ok, don't worry, Gail. I will get her. Just relax, ok. We're almost there."
Holly was sitting in her lab, her face pressed to a microscope. She jotted down her observations on the pad of paper next to her as footsteps in the hallway signaled that someone was approaching the door.
"Hey, Holly," Chris stood awkwardly near the door.
Holly glanced up from her paperwork, but was still so firmly involved in the details she was recording that she didn't notice his anxious body language or the concern on his face. "Oh hey, Chris. What can I do for you?"
He hesitated slightly and didn't answer, causing Holly to look up and fully take in the officer's appearance. A surge of sickening panic made its way through her veins when she noticed splotches of blood on his uniform. "What happened? Is Gail ok?"
"There's been an accident. Gail is ok, but she's pretty banged up. I'm here to take you to the hospital." Chris shuffled forward slightly.
Holly's heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her chest. "What? What happened?" She stood from the stool, pulled off her lab coat and threw it on a nearby desk. She walked quickly so that she was standing in front of Chris, her hand reaching out to touch the stains on his uniform. "Is this her blood?"
"There was an accident with her squad car. She hit her head on the window and was bleeding and a little out of it, but she was awake when I left her at the hospital," Chris tried to be reassuring and convey confidence.
"What about the baby? Is the baby ok?" Holly asked frantically, her eyes wild and pleading as she reached out to grip Chris's arm.
Chris winced and frowned, which caused Holly to assume the worst. Her knees buckled slightly as she brought one hand up to her mouth and gasped, "Oh god."
Chris caught Holly's shoulders to hold her steady. "No, no. Hey, they don't know anything yet. But Gail did tell the paramedic she had some pain in her stomach."
Holly whimpered and tears stung her eyes. "Contractions? Was she having contractions? She can't go into labor. It's too early. The baby is too little." Holly was losing the battle to control her emotions. Her worst fears were becoming reality.
Chris pulled Holly into a tight hug. "Hey listen, we don't know anything, ok? Gail is strong and if that baby is anything like her, he will be just fine. The pain could have just been from the seatbelt." He pulled away to look into her watery eyes. "Let's get you to the hospital, ok? Gail was asking for you."
Holly took a deep breath and nodded, but she couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. Panic was washing over her in waves, her imagination filling in the gaps in the details she knew. Gail was hurt and she might be in labor. Her emotions moved from terror about what could happen to Gail and the baby to sadness over Gail being in pain and finally to disbelief. How had Gail managed to get seriously injured in her last two hours on patrol? Holly had just heard from her a couple of hours ago, teasing via text message about needing cheese puffs and ice cream to make up for having to put up with Duncan all day. And now her beautiful, snarky, pregnant wife was in the hospital. Again.
As they she rode to the hospital in Chris's squad car, lights flashing in her peripheral vision, she considered why she hadn't made Gail go on desk duty earlier. Why hadn't she insisted when they found out Gail was pregnant that she not put herself in danger? And why hadn't she accepted Gail's offer to start working the desk after everything with Perik? Holly had been trying to be rational and rely on the likelihood, statistically speaking, that nothing would happen. And she had wanted to give Gail the freedom to make her own choice, trusting her to keep the baby safe. But she had never felt right about it, never quite able to push the anxiety all the way down. And now Gail was hurt and the baby might be hurt too. All because she didn't listen to her gut instinct.
Rushing into the emergency room, Holly jogged up to the desk, her eyes still full of tears. "I'm looking for my wife, Officer Peck, um…Gail Stewart-Peck. Can you tell me where she is?"
The nurse smiled. "Ah yes, you must be Holly. Your wife has been asking for you. She made it very clear that you should be allowed to come back immediately and not have to wait. She said something about your nerd brain not being able to handle any sort of suspense."
Holly chuckled, feeling a tiny bit of relief to hear that Gail's sense of humor was still in tact. It was a good sign if she was making jokes. She wiped a tear from her cheek as she responded. "That sounds like her."
The nurse pointed to a hallway behind her. "She is in room four. You can head on back. The doctor will be around in a bit."
Holly said thank you and took off down the hall. She entered the room and found Gail lying on the bed, her eyes closed and her hands covering her stomach. She moved closer to the gurney, noticing the bandage on one side of Gail's head and the bruise that had begun to spread out from her temple. There were streaks of blood spotting her cheeks and forehead and her skin was even paler than normal. Her right arm was covered in tiny nicks and cuts and her right hand looked like it had been dipped in blood.
Walking up to the side of bed, Holly slipped her hand into one of Gail's. The blonde's eyes shot open and she rushed to sit up. "Holly," she winced at the pain in her head and brought a hand up to her forehead. "Unh, dammit."
Holly put her hands on Gail's shoulders and gently pushed her back into the bed. "Honey, don't try to sit up. What hurts?" She put one hand on Gail's cheek and the other gripped the stained hand resting on Gail's stomach.
Gail groaned. "My head. It hurts like a bitch." She rubbed her brow on the uninjured side of her head.
"What did the doctor say?" Holly was relieved that Gail was alert, but she needed to know the extent of her injuries.
"I had to get stitches. Twenty-five. And I have a concussion, but just a mild one. They said they'll monitor me over night because I threw up before I got here, but they didn't see any cause for concern." Gail paused and looked pensively down at Holly's hand. "They are coming to do an ultrasound in a little bit. Is it bad that I haven't felt the baby move? Do you think something is wrong?"
Holly's eyes teared up again and she released Gail's hand so she could rub her baby bump. "The baby is still really small, sweetheart, and you just started feeling her move so I don't think we need to panic. Chris told me you were having stomach pain?"
Gail made a face, her eyes betraying her fear. "I had a few contractions."
Holly's heart seized at the confirmation, but she had to be certain. "Are you sure they were contractions? Are you still in pain?" She tried not to let her panic affect the pitch of her voice, doing her best to remain calm for her wife.
Gail nodded her head, her eyes growing wet with unshed tears. "They were definitely contractions. They felt like really bad cramps. I haven't felt the baby move since before the accident." Her voice was quaking and she tried to regain control. "But I haven't felt any pain since before they put me in the ambulance. It was just while I was trapped in the car."
"You were trapped?" Holly blurted out frantically.
"Well our squad smashed into a pole on my side and I couldn't open the door," Gail explained.
Holly bit her lip as tears ran down her face. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying not to imagine the scene Gail was describing. She couldn't believe this was happening. "God, Gail. How did that happen?"
Gail relished the opportunity to think about something other than the anticipation of the ultrasound. Her expression hardened and she growled, "Gerald. He ignored my orders and took off after a person who left the warehouse we were watching. He didn't stop at the intersection and had to swerve around a motorcycle, but he was going too fast and he hydroplaned. The car flipped..."
"You car flipped over?!" Holly nearly shouted. She was ready to strangle Duncan. He was the reason Gail was in the hospital and their baby was possibly in danger. She whimpered as she thought about what could have happened; Gail could have been in far worse shape. She leaned down and kissed her wife on the forehead. "I'm so glad you're ok."
Gail nodded, her eyes growing wide with fear again. "I'm really glad you're here."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else, honey. You're going to be ok and the baby is going to be ok." Stroking the top of Gail's head gently, she tried to be as comforting as possible, but her own anxiety was making it difficult to keep the tears from her eyes. Gail needed to stay calm and in order to do that, she had to stay calm as well.
Holly was on the verge of going to track down a doctor when Dr. Klerick rolled an ultrasound machine through the doorway. "Officer Stewart-Peck. I wish we were seeing each other again under different circumstances."
"Yeah, me too," Gail replied nervously.
"I was told you had a couple of contractions after your car wreck. How long ago was the last one?" She lifted Gail's gown and pressed her fingers in various spots around her abdomen. When she was satisfied, she picked up some gel and spread it on her stomach.
Gail gripped Holly's hand as her voice quaked. "Um, before they got me out of the car. I don't know how long ago that was. Maybe an hour?"
The doctor nodded and picked up the ultrasound wand. "Ok, it's good that you haven't had anymore. Let's see how the baby is doing."
Holly squeezed Gail's hand and both women held their breath, unable to believe they had found themselves in this position once again. Their anxiety climbed as the doctor moved the wand around for several seconds without speaking. Finally a recognizable image appeared on the screen.
"Alright, there's the baby. Looks like the little one is sleeping," she said with a small smile. "Heartbeat is normal and everything looks perfectly fine."
Gail let out a little whimper as relief spread through her chest. Holly put her hand on her wife's cheek and brushed tears away with her thumb as her own tears streaked down her face.
"The contractions were most likely caused by the sudden pressure from the seatbelt. We're going to keep you overnight to make sure you don't have any more and to monitor your concussion. Someone will be along in a little bit to move you up to a room. Try to get some rest. I better not see you back here until it's time for that baby to be born, alright?"
"Yes ma'am, that's the plan," Gail said through tears.
"I'll make sure of it," Holly added.
The doctor rolled the machine out of the room, leaving Holly and Gail in silence.
Gail turned to look at Holly. "Can you help me sit up? I just need you to hold me for a minute," Gail said with a sniffle.
Holly lowered the bar on her side of the bed and then sat down. She slid an arm under Gail's shoulders and gently pulled her up. Gail wrapped her arms around Holly's waist and snuggled her nose into Holly's neck. Hot tears spilled from her eyes as Holly rubbed the small of her back soothingly.
"When I felt those contractions, I thought I was going into labor. And I was so scared because the baby is so small," Gail mumbled through tears, her voice cracking.
"I know, sweetheart. I was scared too, but you're ok and the baby is ok," Holly whispered hoarsely.
Gail nodded into Holly's neck, but didn't say anything. She knew if she tried to speak again, it would turn into sobs.
"Um, Gail?" A tentative voice from across the room pulled the women apart. Standing awkwardly against the open door, Duncan looked at the floor and shuffled on his feet.
Holly shot off the bed before Gail had even registered who was speaking. The brunette crossed the room and stood directly in front of Duncan, causing him to stumble back into the door. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Duncan's eyes were wide as he attempted to stammer out a response. "I was just…I came to check on, um, to see if Gail was ok."
Anger overtook Holly and her hands began to shake. She clenched them into fists as she yelled back, "It's a little late for that don't you think? You have no right to be here. YOU are the reason my pregnant wife is in a hospital bed with a concussion."
Finally catching up to what was happening and a little taken aback by Holly's outburst, Gail slid her legs so that they hung off the bed. "Holly. It's ok…"
Holly spun to look at her wife. "Nothing about this is ok!" Seeing Gail's position on the bed, Holly pointed her finger and sternly said, "Do NOT get out of that bed, Gail."
Gail paused, but didn't move her legs back onto the bed. "Baby, I…"
"That wasn't a suggestion. If you won't take care of the baby, then I will make you," Holly growled before she spun back around and poked her finger into Duncan's chest, her voice loud and full of wrath. "And you. You do not deserve to wear that uniform. You are a danger to anyone you are partnered with and I don't want to see you anywhere near my wife. Get out now."
Duncan muttered, "I'm sorry" and then scrambled to get out the door.
Gail sat stunned, trying to figure out what to say. Holly's words had stung, but she was trying to keep in mind that, just a little while ago, Holly had been terrified that something horrible had happened to her or the baby. "Holly?"
Holly dropped her chin to her chest and brought her hand up to rub her forehead. She took deep breaths to try to soothe the churning fire that blazed in her stomach.
"Holly? Talk to me." Gail started to get up off the bed. She had never seen her wife like this and she needed to help her however she could.
Catching the movement, Holly lifted her head and once again pointed at Gail. "No, don't get out of bed, Gail. I mean it." She crossed the room and gripped Gail's shoulders so she could ease her back down onto the bed. "You have a concussion; you shouldn't be moving around." The anger started to dissipate and the feeling that remained in Holly's chest was guilt.
Gail was worried. She had never seen Holly lose control like that. He wife was protective, but she never yelled and she never took her anger out on other people. She was someone who silently seethed; not loudly exploded. She reached her hand up to touch Holly's cheek, trying to bring her wife out of her own thoughts.
Holly startled and grabbed Gail's hand. She looked into her wife's questioning eyes and once again felt tears fill her own. Shaking her head, she said, "I can't…I can't do this." She squeezed Gail's hand, placed a kiss on her forehead and then turned toward the door.
"Wait, Holly. Where are you going?" Panic was filling Gail's chest. What couldn't Holly do?
"I need to take a walk. I'm going to send Chris in to sit with you," Holly said painfully as she walked out the door.
Gail stared, openmouthed, at the exit her wife had just disappeared through. What the hell had just happened?
Another Author's Note: So Holly kind of lost it. I had been planning on Holly losing her cool for some time. She always comes across as having it pretty well together. We saw her lose it in a different way when Perik showed up. But I imagined that if Gail got hurt because of another officer's stupidity, Holly wouldn't take it well. And so here we got to see angry Holly. :)