Part 30

Oliver looked out at the faces of the officers now under his command. He never thought about becoming a Sergeant before, he'd just been happy to still be involved in the force. Teaching those cadets at the academy made him feel like being a TO again. That part he loved, that was why he hadn't taken early retirement. He still had a job he could do teaching those rookies about life on the street. The good stuff and the bad. They all asked and as he told them, sometimes shit happened.

You couldn't be prepared for everything. No one was that good.

But Oliver thought he was actually a better police officer because of it. Nothing gives you a better perspective of life than coming close to losing it all.

He stared at his old rookies Dov, Andy, and Nash. He'd seen Diaz in passing as he'd arrived at the station. They all looked older than he remembered. He hoped wiser too.

"Okay folk so this is my first full day in charge, yeah, yeah." He let a few cheers die down. "So just get out there and keep the streets safe, and make me look good." He grinned at them before waving to get them on their way. "Assignments are on the board."

Chairs scrapped across the floor as the officers all got up to start their day.

Oliver watched for a few minutes before walking down the aisle, cane in one hand his folder in the other. "Sammy you're with me." He then caught Rosati's eye. "You're next on my list so don't go far."

Jo scowled but left with Luke for their shared office.

Sam had been sat on a bench at the back beside a few other detectives watching Andy and drinking his morning coffee. "Sure." He said with a shrug before following his friend out of the parade room.

Dov sighed when he noticed he was partnered with Andy and that Chloe had desk duty today. That made things easier for him. "I'll get the car set up." He told Andy then disappeared.

Andy lingered wanting to talk to Traci who came over as the room cleared.

"You okay?" Traci asked having spotted the tension between Andy and Sam since she got to the station.

"What do you think's up with that?" Andy asked gesturing to where Sam was walking with Oliver.

Traci snorted. "Fallout from yesterday." She guessed. "You were there too Andy, we got nothing on her."

Andy shifted nervously, looking around to make sure they were alone. "About that, what was that stuff about Steve? Are you guys okay?"

Traci sighed and leant against the desk across from Andy. "It's all about interpretation right? You ever bend the rules a little to get an arrest, or let something slide?" She asked very quietly.

Andy frowned. She wanted to say no because she was a cop and that had to mean they stood for something but yeah, she could recall plenty of examples of doing things that weren't exactly above board.

"Right." Traci said off the look on her friends face. "So it's like, you bring up one thing on someone, say Steve, and he can probably turn around and come up with half a dozen on other people." Especially the time she told Dex about the bust on the illegal gambling den. "It's not easy to be the one pointing the finger."

Except if you were Gail Peck.

"So what, everything she said just goes away?" Andy asked. "What if Steve is dirty?" She hissed at Traci, concerned for her friend being so closely involved with him. Personally and professionally.

"Jesus Andy, do you want me to list all the times you've looked the other way for Sam when he was your TO, or what happened when he went undercover?" She gave her friend a knowing look.

Andy bit her lip and shifted her stance. She knew she'd risked Sam's life going back to his undercover apartment but she'd got suspended for it. She'd paid her due shouldn't everyone else that stepped out of line?

"So we just let it go?"

Traci sighed. "No, we let Oliver handle it and Jarvis, they're the ones in charge Andy, not us."

Andy wasn't happy with that, not knowing that Gail might have put Nick and Duncan in the hospital and dropped more problems in the station by suggesting Steve was a bad cop and that her mother was involved in cover ups.

"What are you going to do Andy? Go after Steve or Elaine Peck? Are you ready for that?" Traci pushed, weren't you supposed to have your partner's back, always? Did that make Steve a bad cop, did looking out for Steve make Elaine dirty or just a good mother?

Those questions weren't going to be answered by Traci or by Andy so why go there.

"It'd mean going to IA and are you really going to do that over Rosati, Callaghan and Oliver?" Traci asked, the operation yesterday had been Jo's and Luke's and Oliver was Andy's direct boss. She'd have to go over all their heads if she wanted what Gail said to Holly to be investigated.

Andy swallowed as something Chris once said to her when she'd said what was more important, being liked by other officers or telling the truth. Derek Bibby was still a detective, he'd been removed from the drugs unit but that was about all.

And then there was this thing with Nick, a police officer from another station was willing to make a DUI disappear for him just because he was a cop. Even if there was more to the accident like Dov said, the blood alcohol couldn't be fixed like that, it was done by the hospital staff.

She felt helpless, all of a sudden she didn't know what the right thing was anymore. But she couldn't go to IA, not now.

Traci frowned when Andy's expression changed and it looked like she might cry. She stepped over to her friend and put her hand on her arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

Andy licked her lips and opened her mouth, she needed someone to talk to, between this stuff with Gail and now Nick, not to mention her problems with Sam, she could really use a friend right now.

Dov stuck his head into the room looking for Andy. "Got the keys!" He said as he jiggled them for her to see.

Traci looked on as Andy started to leave. "We'll talk later." She called out but Andy just put her hand up and left with Dov. Traci felt bad, she should have called her friend back last night but after dealing with the report of the failed sting with Gail no one was happy at the end of shift yesterday.

And then she had to deal with Steve who had taken Gail's accusations remarkably well considering. She'd been worried about what it meant but Steve had assured her he hadn't done anything wrong other than cover for Bibby a few times and asked her if she had ever done the same for anyone, Andy or Jerry or Dex.

She had.

And had anyone done her a favour, like put her forward for the detectives rotation.

Jerry had, and everyone knew it. She might have taken all the courses and worked hard for it but having Jerry on her side counted for a lot. Even Noelle had told her flat out it had been down to Jerry. And the fact that they were dating.

So no, no matter what Andy said Traci knew things weren't always black and white. There might have been truth in what Gail had said but Traci had written her report on it and it was with Oliver now.

She wasn't going to throw the first stone at any of the officers or detectives she worked with and certainly not Elaine Peck.

Because if you started IA on that road you'd have to be prepared for them to look at everyone.

And no one at 15 Division was squeaky clean.

xxxxxx

Gail reached out with her hands desperately but Holly slipped out of the bed. Naked. She was momentarily rendered speechless as she eyed Holly's body before it was covered up. "No, stay, come back to bed." She whined as she rolled onto her back in the bed.

Holly chuckled and continued to pull her jeans on. "I do have to go home to shower and change before I head in to work." Although she was disappointed to be leaving she had to speak to her boss in person so she knew where exactly she stood with her job.

She'd been threatened as much as she was willing to be and if any of the detectives at 15 or the Superintendent herself thought they could keep pressuring her then they had another thing coming.

Once she had an answer she could work out what to do. But she needed to speak to the head of the Forensic Unit if she still wanted to work there then there needed to be a clear line as to where she stood. She wasn't going to have 15 or Elaine Peck watching her every move or making any more demands of her.

She was done. As of yesterday if they tried anything else she was doing exactly what Gail had said and getting a lawyer. She already planned to speak with Ted today or tomorrow and get his professional opinion on what to do.

Not that she was leaving Gail.

Anything else she would consider even if it meant leaving her job for something away from law enforcement. Right now the idea of standing up in court and giving evidence for anything to do with a case involving 15 Division was making her feel sick.

Watching Gail moan and put her arm across her face to shield her eyes made her smile. They'd had a wonderful time last night and long into the early morning.

She'd thought meeting Traci had been a good part of her move to Toronto but it was the woman in front of her now, petulantly playing on her emotions to try and wheedle her into staying in bed, as if they hadn't already spent enough time there today.

She smiled and leaned down to press a kiss on the pouting lips. "I'll be back before you know it." She whispered.

"I'll know." Gail complained as she shifted to rest against the headboard, ignoring her own state of undress as she watched Holly continue to cover up.

Holly chuckled then moved find her socks and shoes. She sat on the end of the bed to put them on and laughed as Gail attached herself to her back. That was proving to be a recurring theme for the blonde. Not that Holly was objecting. It was nice to have Gail pressed up against her body even if her hands were starting to drift.

"Stay." Gail whispered before pressing a kiss to Holly's neck.

Holly steeled herself as she finished and stood up, having to untangle herself first. "I have to go, but I shouldn't be long." In fact if the conversation didn't go well it would be over within minutes.

Gail sighed dramatically. She wasn't going to win this argument it seemed which was a shame because the earlier rounds of 'find the wire' had proven rather enjoyable. "And you're coming back here?"

Holly paused and look back over at Gail. "Do you want me to?"

Gail nodded then stopped and tilted her head as she studied Holly carefully.

"What?" Holly moved back over to the bed and stood at the edge and played with some of Gail's hair as she wondered at the scowl on the blonde's face. Had she changed her mind about wanting her to come back here later?

Gail got onto her knees and wrapped her arms around Holly's waist to look her in the eye. "Move in with me, here." She told the other woman.

Holly was stunned, her hand motionless in Gail's hair. "What?" She breathed out. Gail couldn't seriously be asking her to move in, not when just yesterday she'd been wearing a wire for 15 Division during their talk at the café.

Gail nodded decisively, sure of her decision. "I want you to live here with me, if you want to." She trailed off.

"But, what about your brother and 15 and Wolf?" Holly answered. "No one's going to like that."

Gail scowled again. "I'm not asking them I'm asking you." This wasn't up for discussion with anyone else, Gail wanted to know Holly was safe and the easiest way for that to happen was to live together.

"You're serious." Holly felt lost.

"Unless you don't want to." Which was how it looked. Gail sighed and started to shift back but Holly's hands were on her face quickly to hold her in place.

"You know how insane this is right?" Holly asked although there was an unexpected grin on her face. "I mean after yesterday, how can you just trust me like that?" No one else would have. The moment Gail had known she was wearing a wire the blonde should have wanted nothing to do with her.

Gail couldn't find an answer to that. Maybe no one would understand but they didn't have to. But to Gail Holly had shown her nothing but honesty. She could have very easily got her arrested by just mentioning her name after the robbery at the morgue but for whatever reason Holly hadn't said anything about her being there and yesterday, even as pressured as she was she still made sure Gail knew there was more than one set of ears listening in to their conversation.

Wasn't that proof enough that she could trust this woman?

She shrugged. "Too many knocks to the head."

Holly bit her lip to keep from laughing. "That's not funny." And reminded of the injury she had inflicted on the blonde Holly pulled Gail's head to check the area which was allowed with a grumble of complaint about continued abuse. The stitches were all in place and the wound was healing nicely. She trailed her finger gently over the area then laid a kiss down onto it.

"So what's the verdict Doc?" Gail asked once she was released.

"Mental capacity aside, you'll live." Holly announced.

Gail rolled her eyes as Holly scratched at the nape of her neck. She liked that which made her scowl at the woman in front of her wondering what she was up to now. "I meant about moving in."

Holly grinned. She had understood that.

Gail sighed and crossed her arms over her chest hiding her bare breasts which earned her a pout. "You're right I don't know what I was thinking." She bemoaned retracting her offer.

Holly shook her head then pulled Gail into a kiss which she momentarily resisted. "I'd love to move in with you, you doofus."

Gail narrowed her eyes but she couldn't hold it for long. "Yeah?"

Holly nodded. "Yeah, plus I might be about to lose my job and I seem to recall you making me an offer before."

They shared a grin.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure we can come to some form of arrangement." Gail agreed as she eyed Holly with a view to undressing her and celebrating.

Holly knew that look. Pressing a quick kiss to Gail's lips she shifted away. "Later, I promise."

"But?" Gail was astounded to see Holly disappear out of the bedroom and into the apartment, moments later she heard what sounded like goodbye and the front door of the apartment banging closed.

Holly had actually left.

Gail whimpered then flopped backward on the bed. "I can't believe she left." She muttered to herself.

A few moments later and Gail's cell phone was ringing. Reaching for it Gail didn't even bother to check the caller ID.

"Seen reason have you?" She asked picturing Holly wanting to be let back into the apartment.

There was a pause on the line and then a male voice. "Boss wants to see you."

Gail sat up quickly. "Anan?" He wasn't supposed to be back for a few more days yet. And he did not sound happy at all.

"I'm picking you up in five minutes."

And then he hung up.

Gail's eyes widened then she jumped out of the bed to race for a shower and a clean change of clothes. She had no idea why Anan was back or why Damien wanted to see her right away but it couldn't be good.

xxxxxx

Dov blinked. "How can you say that?" He asked Nick as he and Andy stood in his hospital room. Nick had a black eye and bruising to his face and chest that they could see. And his right arm and hand was swaddled in a foam sling.

"I got drunk and got on my bike." Nick insisted. "I take full responsibility for my actions, I've already agreed with Officer Edwards about filing the charge, I'll speak to Jarvis later today."

Andy could hardly believe what she was hearing. "They could take your badge." She warned.

Nick chuckled and shrugged. "There's worse things that can happen Andy."

"You can't just hide a DUI charge." Dov warned.

"I don't intend to." Nick repeated. He wasn't looking for any favours.

Andy and Dov eyed each other not sure where to go with their theory if Nick wasn't willing to even admit that he had been hurt from an assault not a biking accident.

Andy shifted closer to Nick. "Is this about your hand?" She asked wondering if the medical staff had given him bad news about the extent of his expected recovery. "You worried what it'll look like if you can't requalify?" She asked softly. A disability wasn't something to be ashamed of but to risk your job on a charge of driving under the influence was a hell of a risk.

Nick scoffed then winced as the medication he was on didn't quite stop the sharp pain from his ribs that reminded him not to move around too much.

"You don't live through two tours worrying about what might happen to you." He told Andy. He'd risked losing his life or ability to walk every time he and his squad went into certain territories. What he had done over there was learn to accept that you could spend all your time worrying about what might happen because even being careful good people died.

So he'd poked at Gail for a long time and she finally turned around and bit him.

"Then what?" Dov asked. "Because we know you Nick, you wouldn't have ridden drunk."

Nick eyed Andy because there was no way that information could have come from anyone else. Andy wouldn't meet his gaze for long so he turned back to Dov.

"You don't know me." He told the other officer and watched him scowl. "Anyway it's too late. Edwards is filing his report and I'll take what happens as a result."

"You just going to let her win?" Dov asked, hardly believing that one of Gail Peck's biggest critics was just going to let it go.

Nick tried not to laugh, laughing hurt like fuck. "You think this is anything but a warning?"

"For what?" Andy had to ask.

Nick sighed and lifted his relatively injury free hand up in the air. "He wasn't meant to fire his weapon just scare them a little."

"Duncan." Andy guessed figuring they were talking about Nick pulling Gail's car over and arresting her without cause. One of the many times he had done that.

Nick nodded. "He could have killed one of them." He said quietly. He had so many reasons to hate Gail that he never really thought what it would be like if she turned and hated him back. It was only now that he was looking back that he wondered why she hadn't before.

"I never wanted anyone to get hurt." He told the pair.

Dov snorted. "Except Gail."

Nick sighed and rested back against the pillow propping him up. "Maybe." He'd never wanted to hurt Gail either, just show her that life wasn't going to be easy for her, that she couldn't just walk away from 15 and forget everything. "But I'll take what's coming to me."

Andy watched the flash of pain flit across Nick's face. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

She nodded willing to take his answer this time. "Okay. Good luck."

Dov watched in disbelief as Andy started to leave the room. "You can't be serious, Gail has a fellow officer assaulted and we just let it go?" He stared from Andy to Nick in utter confusion.

"I've already given my statement to Officer Edwards, and I've got nothing else to say about it Epstein, I got drunk after being suspended and stupidly tried to ride my bike home. Next time I'll take a cab." Nick told Dov as he clenched his jaw.

"What about Duncan?" Dov questioned. "We don't even know what happened to him yet."

Nick shrugged. "He could have killed an innocent person Dov, you feel bad for him you go see him." He shook his head and pointed painfully to the door. "We're done."

Dov glared then huffed and left the room, clearly upset with Nick for not telling the truth, for not being willing to stand up against Gail Peck.

Andy hovered a moment causing Nick to look questioningly at her.

"You need anything?" She asked quietly. "A book, magazines, ipod…basket of fruit?"

Nick chuckled.

Andy grinned and shifted closer to the bed leaving Dov to sulk in the hallway.

"Can you bring me real food?" He asked hopefully.

"Are you allowed?"

"Probably not. But I'm scheduled to have surgery on my hand tomorrow so I'm allowed to eat today but hospital food..." He made a face to show it wasn't an appealing prospect.

Andy smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Nick grinned. "You'll be back?" Other than his brother who he wasn't on speaking terms with he didn't really have anyone in his life that would come visit him. He'd gone undercover with Andy once but when they'd gotten back news of Gail working with Wolf's gang had taken up most of his time.

But maybe now he could get some of that back.

Andy headed for the door. "Maybe." She replied with a grin. "But don't expect anything unhealthy."

"So that's a no on burgers then?" He asked teasingly.

Andy laughed. "I'll be back after shift."

And with that she was gone.

Nick reached over for his call button, he hurt everywhere and needed something stronger to try and help him relax enough to fall asleep. He wasn't worried about his hand, he'd seen soldiers recover from lost limbs so even if his hand wasn't fully functional he'd still be capable to do his job even if it meant retraining with his left hand.

If he still had a job to go back to.

xxxxxx

AN/

This is such a slow going story. Ugh. Things will move along quicker soon. Or maybe they won't.

Thanks for reading!