It was a blustery cold winter's day. No amount of clothing or gear was going to keep anyone warm on a day like today. It was so cold that when you took one breath, your nostrils automatically froze shut.
"Oh my gosh, I hate this weather" Gail said, jumping up and down in her spot.
"What? And you call yourself a Canadian! I'm so embarrassed for you" Chris laughed as he stood beside her waiting for their shift to end.
Both were standing at the latest crime scene, a robbery gone wrong, waiting for the forensics team to finish their collection. Gail was getting sick of showing up at these things. It was bad enough that winter just sucked, but why did people have to make things worse by committing crimes against each other.
"Hey, is that Holly?" Chris asked, giving Gail a shove and nodding his head to the right.
Gail turned to look in the direction Chris was gesturing. She felt her heart stop when she saw the doctor step out and walk around a nearby car.
Holly had on a blue toque that had a gray fluffy pom pom with a matching scarf. She wore a black puffy jacket, slim blue jeans and tall black winter boots. She was busy talking with others on the forensics team as she pulled her bag out of the car, flashing her lopsided smile to those around her. Oh how Gail had missed that smile.
"I thought she was in San Francisco," Chris continued.
"Clearly she is not" Gail replied, not taking her eyes off of Holly.
Gail could feel her heart start to race as the doctor shut her car door and turned to approach the crime scene. Gail wasn't quite sure how she was feeling. Was she excited to see her or was she just hurt that they had lost all contact when she left? Never in a million years did she expect to see her here today. She definitely wasn't ready to see her. "Um, I'm going to warm up in the squad car. Radio me if you need help," she stated and without even waiting for his response she turned and walked off in the other direction.
Chris stood there and watched Gail storm off, wondering what had come over her. Perhaps the cold was really getting to her.
"Hey Chris," came another voice, catching his attention. He turned to see the forensic pathologist standing in front of him.
"Holly, hi! What brings you here?" he smiled, honestly happy to see her.
"Well, you are looking at Toronto's new lead forensic pathologist," she smiled, giving him a slight curtsey.
"Wow, that's great! Congratulations!"
"Thank you. Um…was that Gail that I saw with you?" Holly cautiously asked, knowing full well that it was.
"Yeah, she was freezing her butt off and so she's gone to warm up in the cruiser. I keep telling her she needs to invest in some good long johns," he laughed as he hooked his thumb in the direction that Gail disappeared. "She must be happy to know you are back. Funny she never mentioned it to any of us."
"Not many people knew, Gail included," Holly said defeatedly. "Let's say it is a bit of a surprise."
"Oh, well you should come out to The Penny tonight and we will celebrate. I know the gang would love to see you," Chris said excitedly.
"Oh, I don't know, um..."
"No seriously, come out tonight. It will be great" Chris continued, his boyish enthusiasm shining through.
"Um…I'll see" Holly smiled, "I guess I should get to this" she said, raising up her forensic kit.
"Yes, of course," Chris smiled again. "It was great seeing you. We can catch up tonight."
Holly simply smiled and nodded her response before continuing on her way to the crime scene. When she stepped out of the car, she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the blonde officer standing there. Sure she was bundled up in her winter gear, but Holly knew that smile and those eyes anywhere.
Never in a million years did she expect to see her on her first day back on the job. She had this whole plan worked out where she was going to surprise Gail by calling her on the phone asking if they could chat and then knock on her door. She never thought she would run into her at a crime scene, which is kind of dumb considering their work is so heavily connected. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she debated her next move, but then everything stopped when she looked up again and Gail had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Gail had quickly made her way back to the cruiser. She plopped down in the passenger's seat and rubbed her hands together. Did she really just see Holly or had the cold frozen her brain? It couldn't possibly be Holly, but of course it was. She wasn't imagining it, Chris even saw her. But what was she doing here? She was supposed to be in San Francisco.
She wasn't sure how long she was sitting there before Chris came back to the car. "Gosh, I think it is getting colder out there" Chris said, as he turned up the heat. "Everything is done here, are you ready to head back?"
"Yeah, let's go," Gail said, not bothering to ask about Holly, and desperately hoping that Chris wouldn't bring her up either. However, her hope was quickly dashed as the very next second, Chris decided to open his mouth.
"Holly looks good, eh?" he said nonchalantly.
"Yup" she said, popping the 'p'.
"You know, she's the new lead forensic pathologist," he continued.
"Cool," Gail responded, not really wanting to get into it.
"I invited her out to The Penny tonight to celebrate with the rest of us," he added as he drove back to the precinct.
"That's good," was Gail's short reply as she stared out the window desperately wishing Chris would drive faster.
"Gee, Gail, try to control your excitement," Chris teased. "I thought you would be happy to see the doctor again."
"Yeah, well, it's complicated," she answered.
"You know that it doesn't have to be, right?"
Gail laughed as she turned to look at Chris. "That's funny coming from you."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Chris asked, taking a quick glance at Gail before turning his eyes back to the road. "I happen to be very good at relationships."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Gail said, slinking down slightly in her seat.
Chris looked quickly over at his partner again. He knew that Gail did not handle it well when the doctor moved to San Francisco. He could tell that she was still hung up on her. "She asked about you, by the way," he smiled.
Gail sat up a little before turning to look at Chris. "She did?" she asked, trying to hide her smile. "What did she say?"
"Why don't you come out tonight and find out?" he chuckled as he pulled into a parking spot at the precinct and turned off the car.
"Seriously, what did she say?" Gail asked more forcefully.
Chris just shrugged before getting out of the car, leaving Gail sitting there by herself.
Gail sat there until the cold began to seep into the car. She had always imagined running into Holly again, but now that it had happened, she just had no idea on what she should do. What she did need was a big warm cup of coffee, and with that, she battled the cold as she made her way into the precinct.
It was late that night when Holly finally finished up her work. The day had been tiring, but enjoyable. She had missed so much about being in Toronto, not the cold, but definitely a lot of other things.
The entire afternoon, she debated whether or not she should take Chris up on his offer to visit The Penny. Yes, she wanted to catch up with everyone, but at the same time, she wasn't sure everyone wanted to catch up with her, specifically Gail. She was just tidying up her desk when there was a knock on her office door. She looked up to see Chloe standing there with the biggest smile she had ever seen.
"Hey, doctor, a little birdy told me you were here," she smiled as she took a step into the room.
"Chloe, it's great to see you again," Holly smiled in return as she walked over and embraced the smaller woman. "What are you doing down here? I thought you would be out with everyone at The Penny."
"Well that is exactly why I am here. I wanted to make sure you came. Everyone is dying to see you," Chloe smiled. "Chris told them all how you had shown up at the crime scene, and how you had been promoted and we all want to celebrate with you."
"Everyone?" Holly asked skeptically as she walked back over to her desk to finish gathering her things.
"Yes, everyone" came another voice from the door.
Holly turned quickly and was shocked to see Gail leaning against the door frame. She had jeans and a white tee with a leather jacket on top. The sight before her took Holly's breath away.
"Hurry up, get your things, I'm driving," Gail said as a matter of fact before turning and heading back up the stairs not bothering to wait for a response.
Holly turned and smiled at Chloe. "Um…I guess we should go," Holly laughed as she grabbed her coat.
"That's my girl" Chloe laughed as she looped her arm through Holly's and they walked out together.
