Hi guys. This is ridiculously late, isn't it? I know. I can only apologise but rest assured I will finish this fic! :) It would've been up this morning however I had some serious heartburn which I've never had before so naturally, I thought I was dying! lol.

Well I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year and are surviving getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things with my updates as well. Thanks for the amazing reviews guys and all the Christmas wishes. Thanks everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday on Tumblr as well, you guys rock! Some mentions:

Bell26: Thanks :) and you are welcome. Haha, maybe I'll post a TNT warning in future ;)

TheMoodyDoc: Thanks. Wasn't really sure if it would work but, I think it did in the end :)

Slimmy19: Glad you passed your classes. All starts again now right? ;)

resinswhy: Haha, you read my mind ;) More to follow as well...

alwaysirreverent: Thank you so, so much :) Really, reading things like that always makes my day :)

Ardenkai: You're awesome too ;)

...I'm sensing that some of you are waiting on Gail proposing? You'll see ;) Please leave me a review and let me know your feedback. I have a hospital appointment tomorrow so they'll keep me company while I'm waiting.

Enjoy!

Gail watched as Holly slept. Her face angled up and toward the light that was shining in through the blinds. Every now and then her forehead would furrow slightly, as if something a little untoward happened in her dream but then it would disappear again, and her face would become peaceful once more.

Gail smiled every time it happened and as she stood there across the room; her arms folded across her chest in quiet indignation Gail wished she could capture it somehow. So she would forever remember how beautiful this girl is, how cute she could be without even trying, and how at every possible moment she made Gail feel like the luckiest person alive. Even now, when Holly was lost in sleep.

Holly fidgeted then, moving abruptly as she startled herself from her slumber. Her eyes opened a little and she kind of looked at Gail as her shoulders came up, her brow creasing even more as she mumbled something. Something Gail couldn't make out at all. It made Gail pause, the breath catching in her throat and then she took a step toward the bed, concerned.

"You okay, honey?" she asked tentatively.

Holly looked at her with confused eyes, the panic though retreating from them when Gail came into focus. "Mmhnmnm," she mumbled quietly, her demeanour becoming easier.

Gail licked her lips. "Bad dream?"

Holly shook her head and leaned her weight on her one arm, her other hand coming up to rub at her face. "No," she said quietly and then she squinted against the light, a feeling of being utterly lost in her surroundings overpowering her. "I jus.. I need..."

Gail bit on her bottom lip and again stepped closer to the bed. She hugged her arms tight around her middle and she had to fight not to giggle at the adorableness of her totally hung-over girlfriend. She smiled. "What do you need?"

Holly rubbed the ball of her palm into her eye. "I dunno..." she mumbled as her eyes became droopy again, seemingly giving up on what she was trying to get at. She slumped back down into bed and just as quickly as that, she fell back to sleep.

Gail's lips curled up and she grinned, her head rolling forward as she looked at the floor. She made a mental note to remind Holly of this as soon as she woke up later. That she really and truly couldn't handle her liquor at all. Holly never got out of her mind drunk, Gail had never seen an utterly hung over Holly and she was certainly going to remember it, just so she could tease her with it over and over whenever she wanted to.

Gail sighed and went over to the bed, pulling the covers up and over Holly's chest to tuck her in all snug. Holly mumbled something again as she relaxed into the pillows, Gail taking care as she fussed all around her. After a final glance at Holly's slumbering, peaceful face Gail leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, straightening as she ran her thumb lightly over Holly's jaw line before she headed downstairs.

It was a mess.

An absolute mess. Empty champagne bottles everywhere and unfinished trays of snacks on top of pretty much every surface. Gail stood with her hands on her hips and surveyed the devastation from the doorway of the living room. She walked over to the coffee table and picked up a tortilla chip, nibbling on it as she then approached Chloe who was still unconscious on the floor. Gail sighed as she looked at her for a second before she poked her with her foot.

Andy was still out too, over the other side of the living room and Traci was curled up on the sofa. No one else was there, as far as Gail could tell. At least they weren't in her living room.

Chloe didn't move so Gail toed her again.

"Owwwww," Gail heard her muffle, and then a hand poked out from the blankets and gripped her foot. "Quit with the kicking."

Gail sighed, loudly. "Price. The state of my living room is unacceptable."

Chloe pushed herself up into a sitting position, refusing however to open her eyes. "So?" she frowned. "It wasn't just me." She looked up briefly before her face fell into both of her palms, the brightness of the dull room too much for her to take. "Ugh my head," she whined.

Gail rolled her eyes. She barged over to Andy and used her foot to poke her in the ribs too, and then she made her way over to Traci. "Nash," she said, unsure as to whether she should shake her or not. "Nash!" she tried again when there was no movement.

The pile of blankets Andy was hiding under moved and a head poked up from beneath them. She looked towards Gail's voice with squinting eyes. "Why so loud?" she croaked, and then her head flopped back down again.

Gail just smirked at the state of them. "Oh I'm sorry," Gail said softly. "Am I ruining your lazy morning?" All she heard was a couple of mumbles from the bodies on the floor. "In my tip of a living room?" Her voice was raised this time and she saw Chloe roll back into a ball on the floor. "Oh no," she continued. "You guys are getting up and cleaning this mess up."

"What?" Andy hissed, her head rising back up. It was all she could do to open one eye. "You want us to clean?"

Gail shrugged. "You made the mess."

Chloe rolled back toward Gail. "But it was for your best friend's hen night."

Gail raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her. "So? Do the crime do the time, Price." She started clapping her hands. "C'mon!"

Andy threw the blankets off of her and sighed begrudgingly. "Okay, okay," and then she grabbed at the sides of her head. "Just stop with the clapping."

Chloe got up to a sitting position and a hand immediately went to her stomach. "Uhhh. I think I moved too fast."

Gail immediately screwed up her face and pointed an imposing finger in Chloe's direction. "Don't you dare barf on my living room floor."

Chloe grabbed at the side of the coffee table, feeling more than a little bit dodgy.

Gail was mortified. "I mean it, Price!"

Andy managed to crawl over to Chloe. "It's fine," she said as she helped her to her feet, trying to gauge how sick her colleague might be. She angled Chloe toward the kitchen. "Probably just needs some coffee and breakfast."

Gail rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Breakfast? What am I a B&B?"

Andy shot Gail a look over her shoulder. "If you want us to work you need to provide the food."

Gail sighed and after a moment she threw her hands in the air. "Fine," she conceded, and then gestured toward the kitchen. "Help yourself." She turned back toward Traci on the sofa who by all accounts, was still asleep. "But then you're tidying," she added, as an afterthought.

Andy and Chloe disappeared toward the kitchen at which point Traci decided to show signs of life. "You're so caring when it comes to your friends."

Gail smiled and then flopped herself down on the end of the sofa, just next to Traci's feet. "So you are awake," Gail stated, rather than asked.

Traci stretched, a little bit. "Mmmm. I didn't want to get roped into cleaning."

"Oh, you're cleaning," Gail said as she widened her eyes.

Traci opened her eyes and frowned at the light as she tried to focus on Gail. "You're making me clean?"

It seemed obvious, to her. "Yeah," Gail responded.

Traci sat up a little bit. "The morning after my hen party and you're making me clean? The day before my wedding?" She was aghast.

Gail just carried on nodding. She gestured toward the kitchen, again. "If you want food first then knock yourself out."

"Gail, we all have the final dress fitting in," Traci looked at the clock on the wall. "Four hours."

"Plenty of time."

Traci was a little bemused and she eyed Gail carefully, certain she must be joking. Gail however, didn't waver. Traci sighed. "Well are you at least going to help?"

Gail shook her head and got up from the sofa, an evil look gleaming in her eyes. "I guess you guys have a couple hours before you need to head home and sort yourselves out for the fitting." She grinned then, a little sardonically. "I'll tell Holly to meet you there."

Traci just raised her eyebrow. Or at least gave it her best attempt in her hung over state. She sat up straighter on the sofa. "I'm sorry; remind me why we would do this for you?"

Gail shrugged. "Because it's the friendly thing to do?"

Traci practically scoffed. "Friendly?" she questioned, and then she laughed a little. "Turning your friends into slaves isn't exactly friendly, Gail."

Gail sucked in a breath and then she looked to the ceiling, pretending to ponder something for a second. "Well I guess I've never really understood the boundaries."

Traci swung her legs around and put her feet on the floor. "I guess not," she replied with a smile as she watched her toes wriggling against the carpet.

Gail nodded. "You like my hair, Nash?" she asked, resuming her seat on the sofa next to her.

Traci's toes stopped mid-wriggle as a snapshot of a memory came back to her. Just as quickly though it flashed back out again before she could properly focus on it so she kind of pushed it aside. She licked her lips and then turned her head to look at Gail who was eying her with a smug expression.

"Yeah," Traci replied. "It's uhmm, nice." Something was there but she couldn't quite think...

Gail nodded as she bit on her bottom lip. "Don't want to run your hands through it and see?"

Traci froze; a little bit as her eyes went wide and she got a distinct sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, her eyes dropping immediately to the floor. Her mind was showing her images, something like her, Andy and Chloe running their hands all over Gail the night before. Traci's hands running through Gail's hair specifically, then all three of them chanting something...

Gail was smug. She saw Traci's expression plummet and she knew she had her. She sighed happily, her hand moving up to scratch at the back of her head. "Now I'm not sure, maybe you can tell me, but do friends usually feel each other up and demand a striptease...?"

Traci bolted from the sofa and practically made it over to the door in pretty much one single bound. "I'll talk to the guys about cleaning," was all she said before she disappeared through it.

Gail grinned to herself. "That's what I thought you said."

It must have been the exhaustion from the day before. The stress of having to deal with all the guys, her cousins, her ex's and God knew how early it was when she and Holly eventually went to sleep. Holly was an expert lap dancer. Gail thought so after the first one but after the second well, it must've been at least 4am before they finally collapsed in a pile of tangled limbs, heaving chests and skin doused in perspiration.

So when Gail climbed back into bed alongside Holly after giving her friends their orders downstairs, she had only meant it to be for a moment. Or a few minutes. Twenty at the most. All she needed was a short rest and Holly looked so comfortable; the sheets around her body with her one leg poking out toward the bottom and her one arm clutching the sheet to her chest. Her other arm thrown up and over her head against the pillow.

It only took Gail a second to decide she wanted to snuggle up next to her and so that was what she did. Her body pressed tightly along Holly's side and her arm snaking loosely over Holly's stomach over the sheet. Her head gently resting into the pillows just to the back of Holly's neck and her eyes falling closed almost automatically as she felt Holly push back into her, ever so slightly. Gail was asleep in a second.

She awoke to the feeling of a hand pushing lightly against the back of her head. Of fingers drawing patterns in her short her, just at the base of her skull. She could feel it as her hair moved between the fingers. Or as they swirled it around them, rather, and as they moved in a slow and lazy pace, messing her hair up before smoothing it back down again.

It was comforting. Soothing. Gail didn't want to move, so she didn't. She loved the feel of Holly's fingers in her hair now she'd got it cut. Well, she loved it before but now it was even better. She couldn't quite describe it but it just felt amazing. She especially liked it just at the top of her neck, when Holly pushed her fingertips into her skin there, then up over the ridge at the base of her skull and back again. Clenching her hair between them as she went. That could drive Gail wild, and as she felt Holly do it now she raised an eyebrow and exhaled heavily, swallowing the breath that formed in her throat. She pushed her head back to feel it just that little bit more before she relaxed, sighing contently as she snuggled herself further into her comfortable position.

"Hey," Holly murmured, still completely sleepy herself and her voice a little deep from the heavily night and copious amounts of champagne. She stretched as she ruffled up Gail's hair. Her toes flexing as she felt the stretch along her spine and through her legs, a yawn forming quickly as she inhaled.

"Hmnhnmm," was all Gail could muster, her place on top of Holly's stomach far too comfortable to move from however Holly's yawn proved to be contagious. She felt her back tighten as her right hand pushed into Holly's side at her ribs, her other hand clenching into a small fist, wedged underneath her against the mattress.

She signed heavily as she relaxed back against Holly, her shoulders becoming looser as she felt herself kind of flop back into place. She was so comfortable she really didn't want to move. She opened her eyes just a little, her leg falling more prominently between Holly's as her other one pushed against Holly's left.

She mumbled something and then heard Holly giggle, shifting beneath her a little and it made Gail lift her head up, her eyes squinting in the light as she looked around to get her bearings. After a moment her eyes focused on Holly's bare abs and so she went back to them, not content to be anywhere else just then, Holly's skin silky smooth against Gail's cheek after she placed a kiss to her navel.

Holly's fingers continued their gentle caress against Gail's skull. The feel of her hair spiking against her palm just did something to her. It made her smirk lazily.

"Sleep well?" Holly asked, her free hand slowly tracing patterns along Gail's forearm and wrist, the one that was loosely gripping at her side.

"Mhmnhnm," Gail said again, and it made Holly chuckle. She was certain Gail would sleep forever, if given half a chance.

Gail had no idea how long she'd slept for. How long she had been snug in at Holly's stomach, breathing her in as she slept soundly, Holly's top sort of bunched up just above her head. A loose thought went to why it wasn't off, and why Gail had her t-shirt on, too. Then she remembered the night before. The early morning, her trip downstairs to get her co-workers cleaning. It made her smile. Then she remembered how ridiculously drunk Holly was and it just grew.

She angled her head up a bit, too lethargic to move, really, and her eyes tried to scan the room for a clock. She gave up though, after a moment or two, and just stared out at the floor of the bedroom, daylight cascading in through the window even though the curtains were closed.

"What time is it?" Gail asked.

Holly moved her head in the cushions a little, as if trying to see Gail's sleepy expression. "About eleven."

That made Gail pout, a bit. She went back to resting against Holly's abs. "Haven't we got things to do today?" she mumbled.

"Yes," Holly nodded. She sighed too at the realisation, and at the fact that they really should get up. "You need to be at the suit fitting and I need to check in with the venue, and then help Traci with her dress fitting."

Gail groaned, forcing her eyes shut and whining as best as she could. "Can't somebody else do it?"

Holly started playing with her hair again. "No, honey. I'm afraid we signed up for it."

"Ugh. Phone in sick."

Holly full on laughed, at that. "I think they'll know that we're lying."

Gail just sulked and pushed her face further into Holly's stomach.

"Besides, then we have the rehearsal dinner."

That really was it. Gail was sick of this wedding. She growled from the back of her throat and pounded her feet against the mattress, a little bit. "This wedding is taking over our lives!"

Holly just carried on giggling. "I know, but it's only going to happen once-"

"-Thank God."

"And it's not like any of it is a surprise. We planned most of it."

Gail huffed as she lifted her head up, throwing Holly a squinty eyed scowl as she screwed up her face. "No you planned it. If I had anything to do with it they would've eloped and left me out of it."

Holly couldn't help but smile at her adorably miserable girlfriend. "Aw," she sighed, reaching out to do something about Gail's spiky hair. "Such a romantic."

Gail softened at the affection but she was still annoyed. "I mean it, Holly. If Steve ever gets married again remind me not to be best man."

Holly's lips upturned in her sideways smirk. "Okay."

"I'm serious."

"I know you are."

"Good."

"Well just think, in three days it'll all be over."

Gail rolled over onto her back, at that, and flung her arms up over her head in a tight stretch. She exhaled the biggest sigh she could muster. "Why can't we be there already?"

Holly propped herself up on her elbow, having to pause a moment while the world righted itself. She knew there was a reason why she didn't normally drink that much alcohol. Luckily it didn't affect her that much so she didn't have too much of a hangover. "So you're not looking forward to dancing with me?" she asked, blinking a few times. "You know, all dressed up and formal like?"

Gail eyed her. "I'm not sure it'll beat last night's dance."

Holly laughed as she leaned into Gail's shoulder. She shook her head as images came back to her. She couldn't remember all of it, but she knew it was wild. She bit on her bottom lip. "No well, I think a few people will get a bit of a shock if I tied you to a chair and re-enacted that."

Gail grinned. "My mother would have an aneurism."

"I don't think we'd ever be able to leave the house again."

Gail waggled her eyebrows as she turned her head to Holly. "This idea has no downside."

Holly reached over with her free hand and pinched Gail on the hip.

"Ow!"

Holly sat up. "You, need to behave." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, stretching her whole body as she moved toward the closet.

Gail rolled over onto her stomach and occupied the space Holly just got up from. "Oh I do? I think you were the wild one last night, Holly. Not me." She unceremoniously raked her eyes down and then back up Holly' body. "You're the one putting the ideas in my head."

Holly tried to come across as bashful but honestly was completely smug and exceptionally satisfied with herself for that hell of a lap dance she gave Gail last night. Her smirk became all kinds of wicked. A glint appearing in her eye. She pulled out a pair of shorts from the top drawer and put them on, exaggerating her movements as she knew Gail was staring. "You like me wild."

Gail held her bottom lip between her teeth, suddenly feeling lonely now Holly had got up. "Come back to bed," she whispered.

Holly tilted her head at her. "I wish I could but," she paused, thinking about the best way to get Gail moving. "You'll have to wait till later."

Gail just pouted. "Too long."

Holly smiled as she walked back over to the bed, slapping Gail on the ass playfully. "C'mon, the sooner you're up the sooner we can come back." She had to get Gail moving if the day was going to go to plan.

Gail sighed. "As if that'll happen," she mumbled as she heaved herself to her knees.

"C'mon. You said you'd meet Steve at one at the tailors." Holly threw some sweats at her then disappeared out the door.

Gail rolled her eyes. "I know," she sighed, and then she remembered. "Steve."

Holly got to the bottom of the stairs as she tied her hair up, taking in a breath before entering the living room. She stood there for a second, not quite understanding what she was seeing. She leaned her weight on her hip and frowned, quite heavily, swiping her eyes around the room.

It was tidy. Like pristine tidy and clean. Even the cushions on the sofa were straight and presented in size order, something that never happened because Gail never straightened anything, and she was always the last on the sofa.

Holly continued on into the kitchen which was also spotless, no empty bottles, no overflowing trash. No half eaten trays of food. Holly stood with her hands on her hips, rather astounded. She tilted her head and honestly couldn't believe Gail had done this. She nodded her head, impressed, and went over to the coffee maker. That's when she saw it, the note, held to the refrigerator with a magnet.

"Ha," Holly mused. She pulled it off and read it with a smile.

'Sorry for all the inappropriateness and the, you know. Touching. Hope your house is to your liking, Officer Gail. See you at the wedding! :) Chloe xxx'

Holly's eyebrow immediately went up. "Touching, huh?" she asked no one in particular. She heard Gail bound down the stairs so she put the note back on the fridge and turned back to the coffee maker.

Gail burst in through the kitchen door. "I have to go," she said quickly, going over to the back door and grabbing her boots.

Holly spun to her. "What, no coffee?"

Gail leaned her back against the wall as she struggled to put her boots on. She shook her head. "No," she said, her attention somewhere else completely.

Holly frowned. "What's wrong?"

Gail shoved her foot into her boot and then straightened up, running a hand through her quickly styled hair. "It's Steve. He's mad."

Holly leaned against the counter. "Mad?" she shrugged. "Not just hung over?"

Gail avoided looking at her. She grabbed her leather jacket off the hooks by the back door. "I wish," she mumbled.

Holly smiled. She knew when Gail was up to something. "Honey?"

Gail sighed and turned to her, then. "Yeah?"

Holly folded her arms across her chest. "What have you done?"

Gail held her palms out, completely pushed for time so she thought she may as well tell her. She'd find out in the end, anyway. "It wasn't even my idea," she defended.

Holly just quirked a brow. "What wasn't?"

Gail was well aware Holly wouldn't like that they'd involved her lab in their prank. Nor that they'd roped Rodney into it, for that matter. The idea and the persuading might have been all Swarek, but Gail was the one who got Rodney to listen in the first place.

She sighed and rubbed her fingertips into her forehead. "Steve may have woken up in a body bag, this morning."

Holly's eyes went wide. "What?!"

Gail looked away. "In your lab..."

Her jaw fell open. "What ?!"

Gail's eyes went to the floor. "On a gurney."

Holly couldn't comprehend it. Not even for a second. How the hell did they even get in? Or even remotely think it would be a good idea ? She sliced her palm through the air. "Gail," she gasped and then she paused, blinking a few hundred times as she tried to sort out the thoughts in her head. Her eyebrows knitted together. "Why on earth..." she stopped herself. "Who...?" she paused again and adopted a stern expression. "Do you have any idea the kind of trauma that could inflict?"

"It was a joke."

Holly couldn't believe it. "He could have suffocated, for a start."

Gail shrugged. "We left an air hole."

Holly took a step closer to carry on her point but Gail got in first.

"Or that was the plan. I don't know, I left after the casino." Gail pushed the words out quickly to fill the disappointment she felt rising in the air.

Holly went to say something else but Gail stepped closer to her and kissed her quickly on her cheek.

"I have to go, the tailors, remember?" She moved toward the hallway.

Holly spun on her heel and followed behind her. Still rather dumbfounded. "Well is he okay, at least?"

"Okay enough to yell at me in a voicemail."

Holly leaned on the door frame. "I'm not surprised."

Gail opened the front door. "I'll see you later-"

"-Gail?"

Gail turned, hoping she wasn't going to get a telling off from Holly, too. She winced. "Yeah?"

Holly just shook her head, trying to push out the sheer level of irresponsibility. "Want to tell me how the house got so clean this morning?" She just plain refused to believe Gail did it all herself and the note had piqued her interest.

Gail took in a breath and looked to the ceiling. She didn't really have the time to go into it. "I guess we just have really considerate friends."

Holly nodded. "The ones that slept over last night?"

Gail eyed her, hoping that would do. "Yah."

Holly pulled her lips through her teeth. "Uh-huh." She smiled and then turned to head back into the kitchen. "You can tell me later."

Gail rolled her eyes. She was hating this day already.

Gail surprisingly, was the first to arrive at the tailors. She was fifteen minutes early and she walked into the back room anxiously, her palms sweating just slightly. The breath rising uncomfortably in her throat. She eyed the tuxedos that were hanging up on the back rail, hers being fitted especially and therefore taking the most time. Quite a few amendments had to be made after the last fitting.

She walked over and ran her hands over the fabric of the jacket. It felt smooth to touch, delicate. It was classic black with a two button, single breasted front and satin notch lapels. A pristine white shirt with a short collar, a dark silver waistcoat and of course a black bow tie to finish it off. Her lips fell to the side as she ran the tie through her fingers; she was going to look great in it, if she did say so herself.

"Hey sis," she heard from behind her. She closed her eyes as she bit on her lip. She pulled her hand away from the tie and turned around to face her brother. "Still alive then, I see."

Gail opened her eyes and looked at him, the state of his face the first thing she noticed. She took a few steps toward to him. "Oh my God what happened?"

Steve took off his jacket and hung it on the chair in the corner, turning to her in annoyance. He put his hands on his hips and glared at her. "I fell."

Gail came to a stop a foot or so in front of him, the look of concern on her face unmistakable. She went to touch his reddening black eye. "You fell?"

Steve flinched away from her. "Yes, I fell." His glare intensified and he leaned into her. "From the gurney and out of the body bag."

Gail knew she shouldn't laugh but, she just couldn't help it rising in her throat. She swallowed it though, and had to look away briefly.

Steve raised his voice. "It's not funny, Gail."

Gail widened her eyes. "I'm not laughing." Her tone betrayed her though as her voice went totally high pitched. She rubbed the tip of her nose with the back of her hand, trying to compose herself. "How did you err..." she started, trying her best not to grin wildly. Somehow she managed to return her eyes to him. "...Manage that?"

Steve's eyes hadn't budged from his little sister. He honestly couldn't believe she'd left him, and let such a thing happen. He had a black eye the day before his wedding, for God's sake! "How did I manage that?" he repeated, the gravel in his tone evident. His eyes were on fire. He looked to the ceiling and frowned, as if he had to think about it. "Try waking up in a pitch black bag, struggling to get out and not knowing where the hell you are!"

Gail was really struggling to keep a hold on how funny the image of Steve trying to get out of the bag was. She had to cut her eyes away from him.

He inched closer to her. "Then when you realise you're zipped inside a bag and you manage to open it and escape, you don't think you're on a thin metal gurney." He squared his chin. "I fell straight off and hit the ground."

Gail just looked at the floor, her shoulders hitching a little in amusement.

Steve had had enough of her and the fact she thought the whole thing was so funny. He was fuming. He pointed at his eye. "Gail! Look at this!"

Her head came up to look at him but she just couldn't contain her smile.

"How am I going to explain this to Trace? To mom ?! The photos are going to be ruined!"

Gail rolled her eyes and inhaled sharply. "Oh calm down," she said quickly, grabbing him at either side of his face to get a better look at the damage. "It's fine, I've had worse black eyes than that."

Steve shrugged out of her grip.

"It's nothing a little make-up won't fix."

Steve glared at her, again. "Make-up? You want me to wear make-up?"

She gestured to her own eye. "Just to cover it up."

Steve threw his hands in the hair, not knowing where else to go with it. "Gail," he sighed, exasperated.

Gail lessened the size of her smile as she felt some sympathy for him, but only a little. She shrugged her shoulders. "Well it's either that or photoshop the photos."

He eyed her a little dangerously, putting his hands back on his hips. "You were supposed to be my wingman," he said despondently. "You were supposed to look after me." He raised his voice a bit, then. "You're my best man, Gail!"

She felt bad, then. He was right after all; she shouldn't really have cut out early and gone home to Holly. She should have been there to look after him, she supposed but it wasn't like he had no one. Dov and Chris were supposed to babysit him in the lab. Make sure he was okay, and everything.

"Okay!" Gail defended herself. "I'm sorry, but what about Epstein and Diaz? They were supposed to keep an eye on things."

"They were passed out in the corner of the room," Steve scoffed. "They didn't even wake up when I fell off."

Gail couldn't help but laugh at the last few words of his sentence. The image was just way too funny for her and Steve retaliated by digging his eyes into her like he wanted to burn a hole in her head. "Okay," she said, once she'd calmed down her breathing. "I'm so sorry, but we can fix the black eye, don't worry." She held up her palms. "Really," she managed between titters, "It's all going to be fine."

After a moment Steve pulled his eyes away from her and sighed, heavily. Looking down at the floor and then back at his sister. "Fine," he mumbled, "but you better make it look good."

Gail felt it was safe to approach him so she took a few steps forward and rubbed him on the arm. "It will, trust me."

His eyes turned to saucers. "Trust you?"

Gail nodded, and smiled widely once more. "You gotta admit though, it was a pretty good prank."

He honestly couldn't believe she said it. He frowned at her. "Really?"

Gail bit on her lip and looked away, patting him twice on his shoulder before retracting her hand. "Too soon huh?"

He just stared at her.

"Yah," she whispered.

Bill walked in then, closely followed by Oliver and Sam who made up the rest of the grooms party.

"Sorry we're late guys," Oliver said, rubbing his hands together as he walked into the room. "Bit of a heavy night last night, huh guys?" He slapped Sam on the shoulder who was wearing a pair of aviators.

"What?" Sam replied, holding his palms out. "I'm fine."

"Whatever you got up to I don't want to hear about it," Bill started as he took off his coat and hung it on top of Steve's. "I want to deny all knowledge."

"Don't you worry Inspector, nothing sinister or un-holy happened last night, you have my word on that," Ollie summed up. "Right Sammy?" he finished with a smile, slapping Sam on the back.

"Yeah right," Steve murmured, turning to face them all.

"Jesus Christ!" Bill exclaimed when he saw the state of his eye. Bill took a step closer, "What the hell happened to you?"

Sam and Ollie were surprised too, Sam taking off his aviators to get a better look. Steve just flicked his eyes to Gail so everyone else turned to her too.

Gail backed off toward the rail of tuxedos. "Don't look at me," she started, raising a finger in Sam's direction. "It was Swarek's idea."

Gail sighed as she pushed open the front door, closing it idly behind her as she leaned her back against the entrance hall wall. She shrugged off her jacket and hung it up on the peg. She noticed Holly's boots by the front door as she kicked off her own, so presumed her girlfriend was back from her final check at the venue with Tracy and the bridal party, fancy lunch and all.

"Holly," she shouted, even though her head was angled toward the floor. "You home?"

She was moping. Her dad wasn't impressed about the body bag stunt, although that wasn't all on Gail. However it was universally decided by both Peck's in the room that Gail should've stopped it. Oliver had her back though, and started defending her to the hilt, Sam more or less absolving himself from all blame.

More importantly though it was decided the Mother Peck would completely and utterly blame Gail, so the entire groom's party were sworn to secrecy. Bill convinced Steve it would be for the best if he blamed too much alcohol and a run in with a wall, or a lamp post, or whatever while drunk which ultimately, wasn't much of a lie. Apparently Dov and Chris were still asleep when Steve left the lab that morning so there were no witnesses to the contrary.

Gail even though she wouldn't admit it, was thankful for Steve not betraying her to the mother hen, although at the end of the tuxedo fitting he eluded to her better having an 'epic' speech prepared as recompense. She had scowled at him of course, but decided to go with it as he explained he better get going as he needed to explain his 'unfortunate accident' to his soon to be wife.

Luckily Gail already planned on giving a speech at the reception and so had one prepared, although she thought it was rubbish. She flopped her shoulders as she rubbed her eye, making her way sluggishly into the living room. The speech would just have to do, she wasn't about to spend any more time on it. There was only about an hour before they would have to leave for the rehearsal dinner and then she would have to spend the night with her brother. Whatever time she had now she wanted to spend it with Holly.

She grabbed at her shoulder and stretched her neck as she looked to the ceiling. "Steve has a black eye," she said aloud, hoping Holly would hear her wherever she was in the house. "I know you'll say it was my fault but, the dumbass fell off the gurney and smacked his face off the leg, or something." She picked up the mail that was lying haphazardly on the coffee table and started to flick through it.

"I came home to be with you so technically I wasn't even involved in the prank so, really, it wasn't anything to do with me at all." She absently walked over to the patio doors and casually glanced outside, raising her eyebrows appreciatively as she noted how tidy it was out there too. She mentally reminded herself to thank the girls later on for their hard work but, she knew she'd forget. She turned her back on the doors. "Luckily Steve's going to make something up so Elaine doesn't castrate me for it so..." She trailed off as she frowned at one letter in particular, turning it over to open it with her thumb. "...If anyone asks you about it that's the official story, okay?"

Gail's attention was completely on the letter in her hands as she scanned it quickly, a frown appearing on her face as she did. She wandered back towards the hallway, stopping just short of the doorway as she knew by now that was the best place to hear any movement from upstairs.

She tilted her head up as if that would give her voice more flight. "There's a letter here about a neighbourhood watch meeting," she said as she paused, waiting for some kind of response from her girlfriend. When there wasn't one, or any sound at all she took her frown to the ceiling. "Hol?"

Still nothing.

After a moment of deduction she determined there was no way Holly could be upstairs. She hadn't heard a sound since coming home so she dropped the mail back on coffee table and headed for the kitchen, deciding to check there before the yard.

She headed silently into the hall and moved herself along the wall as the officer in her kicked in and she automatically became paranoid. She listened at the kitchen door for a moment that was only slightly ajar and then she eased it open.

"Holly?" Gail whispered, the breath escaping her lungs as her eyes took in what she saw.

The corners of her mouth turned up and she was sure she felt a flash of heat rise up her neck. Gail's day had just cheered up exponentially and she grinned from ear to ear, her rising anxiety for the evening vanishing pointedly.

She looked at Holly. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

Holly tilted her head to the side from her position on top of the kitchen island. "Uhmmm," she mused. "Some, yeah." She was sat on the edge with her weight leaning back on her palms, her legs crossed and resting to the side on one of the stools. All she was wearing was her red underwear, Gail's favourites and a very loose shirt that didn't cover her at all. Her hair was down and cascaded over her shoulders, her eyes glinting through her glasses as she favoured Gail with her lop-sided grin. "Like what you see?"

Gail nodded, not moving from just inside the doorway. "You're the cherry on top of my day." She sucked in a breath and licked her lips, her eyes dropping for a second to their new kitchen island. Or rather, their old one. Gail gestured toward it with her hand. "I see you uhhh..." and then she suddenly became short of breath. She made a mountain of taking in another as her eyes unabashedly raked up Holly's ridiculously tanned and long legs. She had to blink a few times as Holly chose that time to arch her back, pushing her chest forwards and flicking her hair over her shoulder with a sharp sideways movement of her head. Gail was practically gone. Her pulse rate quickened and she couldn't help the excitable smirk that formed across her face. "...Got a kitchen island."

"Not just any kitchen island," Holly informed her, her grin nothing but teasing, her expression nothing but smug and confident in what she was doing. What she had planned.

"I can see," Gail replied as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She raised an eyebrow. "How the hell did you manage it in one afternoon?"

Holly cocked her head to the side and started bouncing one foot just slightly, as if she wanted Gail's focus back on her legs. She was pleased when it succeeded. "I paid some guys," was her simple reply.

Gail's attention was lost on Holly's legs, and more to the point where they lead. "Some guys, huh?" she asked absently, not really interested in the how anymore.

Holly licked her lips. "Are you going to come and say hi?"

Gail grinned at that, and bowed her head a little before she walked quickly over to the island, to where Holly's legs were crossed and then she placed her hands on top of them. Against Holly's thighs.

"Of course," Gail said as her palms moved delicately over her skin. She looked Holly in the eyes and then leaned over her. "Hi."

Holly chuckled. The sound emanating from deep with her throat and it sent shivers down Gail's spine who stood there unmoved, beckoning Holly with her head to sit up and kiss her.

After a moment she did. Holly uncrossed her legs and caught Gail with them around her waist, her arms immediately hooking over her shoulders as she came up and placed a slow, sensual kiss to Gail's lips.

There were many things Gail loved about Holly, they were probably countless in fact but this had to be one her favourites. How unbelievably sexy she could be when Gail least expected it. She felt Holly's tongue start to play with hers and it made Gail groan in pleasure. The feel of Holly's lace underwear beneath her fingers exacerbating her already mounting desire. Holly's thighs tightened around her and it just made it worse; the sensations Holly's fingers were creating as they ran through her hair, busy messing it up as she applied pressure to the back of head practically making her delirious.

It was fantastic. She was fantastic, and she was on their kitchen island. The detail wasn't lost on Gail and the fact Holly organised this when they were supposed to be knee deep in wedding preparations was amazing. It just turned Gail on all the more. She wanted Holly on this island. She wanted to make her breathless, wanted to do all the things Holly did to her that first time and plenty more besides. She wanted to make her scream and curse, cum long and hard as her body writhed in desire at what Gail's fingers and tongue were doing to her.

The kiss quickly became passionate and Holly had to rip her lips away in order to take a breath. She placed a finger to Gail's chest and started to push her back; easing her away just enough so Gail couldn't reach her lips. "So uhm, do you like your present?"

Gail's eyes were closed and her breaths were coming thick and fast, the idea of how quickly Holly could turn her on utterly insane but, it was the truth. Gail felt it between her legs and as the blood pumped through her veins. "Uh-huh," she answered, her tongue running over her lips. She had no idea if Holly meant herself in her red underwear, the actual kitchen island or both but she really didn't need it clarifying. She needed her lips back on Holly.

Gail leaned forwards to capture Holly's lips again but her finger stayed firm against Gail's chest, digging into her as she pushed against it. She opened her eyes and looked down at it, and then up at Holly a little confused.

Holly bit on her bottom lip, her hand snaking around to the back of Gail's neck. "We've uhm," she whispered, moving her lips to within an inch of Gail's. "Got to be at the rehearsal dinner in an hour."

Gail really didn't care. "So?"

Holly grinned. "So, we need to go get dressed."

Gail's breath was hot in her throat, the temperature in her gut rising by the second. "That's the opposite of what I have in mind."

Holly sat them both up and relaxed her thighs so they rested against the island, relinquishing their hold on Gail's waist.

Gail's hands dropped to the tops of Holly' thighs and she traced along her skin with her fingertips as she leaned in for another kiss.

Holly however was quick to bring up her finger and she pressed it against Gail's lips. "Later," she whispered, and then she hopped off the island and headed for the stairs.

Gail was mortified. She couldn't believe it. "Holly!" she whined and then followed her and stopped at the foot of the stairs, taking immense pleasure in watching Holly's ass as she ran up the stairs. "You can't tease me like that."

"Later..." was all she heard float down the stairs with a chuckle.

Gail practically growled in frustration as she ran up the stairs two at a time. Later she would be stuck with Steve. She wouldn't be able to get Holly anywhere near a bed until tomorrow night. She saw Holly disappear into the bathroom and she strode up to the door, pushing her palms flat against it. "But you know we can't tonight," she said to the wood, a sulk clearly in force on her lips. She waited a moment but there was nothing but silence so she banged her palm against the door. "Holly!"

Holly opened the door and stuck her head around it, her satisfied grin doubling in size. "Well then I guess we're going to have to make time, aren't we?" she responded, a wicked glint colouring her eyes.

"When?" Gail asked, her disappointment doing a little u-turn at the promise on Holly's voice.

"I told you," Holly replied. "Later." She pulled Gail toward her by top and placed a quick kiss on her lips before she pushed her away again. "Now go get dressed."

She shut the door leaving Gail a little bewildered, and very frustrated. She was turned on and had no idea what Holly had in store but she assumed from her display on the kitchen island it would definitely be worth waiting for.

She turned on her heel and headed for the bedroom.