Gail sat at her desk, humming along to Daydream Believer by the monkeys, tapping out the beat with her pencil.

"What has gotten into her?" Chris asked, eyeing the happy blonde.

"I have no idea, but it is starting to scare me," Dov responded.

"You two know that I can hear you, right?" Gail said as she swiveled around to look at the two men.

Both men threw up their hands in defense, then turned and pretended to work on something at their desks.

"Losers," Gail said as she tossed her pencil at them, before spinning back around and continuing with her humming.

"Seriously though, what has put the pep in your walk today?" Chris asked sincerely.

"Well, if you need to know, I actually stood up to my mother and told her that I was not letting her set me up on any more blind dates," Gail smiled. No matter how many times Gail told her mother that she was not interested in anyone, especially since she was still kind of together with Holly, her mother just didn't listen. But not this time. This time she put her foot down and said no.

"Oh, wow, that's pretty big," Dov commented.

"Congratulations!" added Chris.

"Thanks, I'm pretty proud of myself," Gail smiled. It only took most of her life, but she finally got up enough courage to say no to something her mother wanted. What could she deny her mother now? The possibilities were endless!

"But why is your mother still setting you up on dates? Doesn't she know you are with Holly?" Chris dared to ask.

"According to my mother, it is important to keep my options open, especially now that Holly is in San Francisco" Gail said as a matter of fact.

"Wow, that sucks." Dov said.

"It did suck, but I will not have to deal with that anymore," Gail smiled proudly. "I've put my foot down and said enough is enough."

Just then, Gail's brother rushed into the room and up to Gail's desk. "Heads up, someone's in trouble" Steve whispered loudly as he quickly passed by Gail's desk.

She looked up to see her mother storming towards her.

"Oh hi mom" Gail said as she quickly stood up from her desk.

"Superintendent Peck" both Chris and Dov acknowledged just as quickly.

"Sit down officers, I'm here to speak to Officer Peck" she said, turning to look directly at Gail.

"Um, mom," Gail squeaked, "what can I do for you?"

"Oh, darling, I'm here about your text," she stated as she held up her phone.

Gail swallowed hard when she saw the text she had sent this morning saying no to her mother's plan to set her up with another blind date. "About that…," Gail began.

"Enough, I will see you tonight, at the house, for dinner. Wear something nice," she instructed before turning and leaving the room, not bothering to wait for a response for Gail.

Gail flopped back down in her chair.

"Well that went well. I can't believe you texted her no" Steve laughed, coming to sit on the edge of Gail's desk, earning a slap on his leg from her.

"Shut up" she mumbled before turning to carry on with her paperwork, her good mood suddenly disappearing.

"If it makes you feel any better, Traci and I will also be joining the dinner tonight, so you won't be alone with your date" Steve added.

"Not really, but thanks" she said flatly.

"Cheer up. I hear she set you up with a doctor" Steve added.

"Yeah, that's going to make things so much better. When I die of sheer boredom, he will be able to resuscitate me," she said sarcastically.

Steve could only laugh. "I'll see you tonight" he said before disappearing down the hall.

Great, Gail thought to herself. She really thought she had sorted all of this out, but no. When she thought she was free, her mom sucked her back in. Tonight was going to be oh so fun.

Gail stood at the front door and adjusted her dress before knocking. It is one thing that her mother insists she comes over for dinner. It is a whole other thing that her mother insists she wears a dress. If she had enough nerve, she would have texted her no again. Instead, here she was, at her mother's, wearing a rather tight red dress.

Steve opened the door. "Hey, little sister, you look great," he complemented.

"Thanks. You look good too. Where's Traci?" Gail asked, stepping into the house and placing her purse on the side table.

"Oh, she's on the deck talking with your date," Steve smiled.

"Oh god, please be honest with me, should I have a few shots before heading out there?" she asked, looking pleadingly at her brother.

Steve laughed. "Um…I'm going to say no. I think Mom might have actually picked a good one tonight."

Gail could only roll her eyes as she walked through the house to the back door. She stepped out and was immediately met by her mother and father.

"Honey, you look lovely" her dad said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, Dad."

"Darling, please come this way, there is someone I want you to meet," said her mother. Gail begrudgingly followed her. She took a deep breath and did her very best to plaster on a smile as she came up behind Traci.

"Gail, honey, I think you might have already met our guest" Gail's mom began.

Traci stepped to the side to reveal a sight that caught Gail's breath in her throat.

"H…Ho…Holly?" Gail stuttered out.

"Hi Gail" Holly said as she smiled her lopsided smile. "You look amazing." The doctor didn't hide how she looked Gail up and down. Gail had a red dress that accentuated her body perfectly. Her hair was a little longer than Holly remembered, and it was pulled up slightly, showing off her slender neck.

"What are you doing here?" Gail gawked. She couldn't believe her eyes. Was Holly really standing there?

"Your mother invited me for dinner," Holly smiled.

"Yeah…but…I…you…I…" Gail stammered, causing Holly to laugh out loud.

"Well, we will leave you two to catch up. DInner will be ready in 15 minutes," Elaine said, as she shooed Steve and Traci into the house leaving the two ladies standing alone in the quiet of the night.

"What are you doing here? And don't say because my mother invited you," Gail asked again. She hadn't seen Holly in over a year. They talked daily and often spent their evenings in video calls with each other, but now, Holly was standing here, right in front of her.

Holly smiled and took a step forward, reaching out and gently running her hand along Gail's cheek. "You are so beautiful," she said softly.

Gail couldn't help but blush. "But that doesn't answer my question, dear doctor. How are you here?" Gail asked again.

"Well, um…" Holly began, "what if I told you that you are looking at the new lead forensic pathologist?" Holly smiled.

"What?" Gail exclaimed. "For here?"

"Yes ma'am. They offered me the job and I said yes" Holly beamed.

Gail quickly slapped her arm, shocking Holly. "Ow, that hurt" Holly laughed, rubbing her arm, "why did you do that?"

"Why didn't you tell me? Why am I finding out now?" Gail said in a huff.

"I wanted to surprise you…so…um…surprise," Holly smiled, lifting her hands into the air, only to earn another slap from Gail.

"This is not cool" she huffed.

"What? I thought you liked surprises," Holly said softly, reaching out to pull Gail closer to her, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Have I told you how gorgeous you are?"

Gail couldn't help but blush. "Not in those words exactly," she smiled, "but still, you could have said something."

"I know, I'm sorry, but I thought this would be a nice surprise for you," she said, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on Gail's lips.

Gail couldn't help but smile as she melted into the kiss.

"So are you mad at me for not telling you?" Holly asked, pulling back a little.

"No, I'm not mad," Gail smiled. "I'm so happy you are here, but that brings up another question. How are you here at my parents' house?"

Holly laughed as she held Gail close. "Well, my dear Officer Peck. I had quite an interesting conversation with your mother. I had some certain conditions that needed to be met before I accepted the position."

"And that got you to dinner, how?"

"Well, I had a very private conversation with your mother, and I told her that I was madly in love with you, and that she had to stop setting you up with others because I wasn't willing to share you with anyone," Holly smiled a rather cocky smile.

"You did not!" Gail exclaimed.

"Yes ma'am, I did!"

"And she agreed?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Holly laughed.

"I can't believe you did that. What if she had said no?"

"Oh, I'm pretty awesome at my job, I don't think she would have said no" Holly stated as a matter of fact, earning another slap to the arm from Gail.

"Ow, why do you keep hitting me?" Holly fiend being hurt.

"I'm sorry, I just can't believe it," Gail said as she stepped away from Holly, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you are here," she said, turning to look at Holly. "Maybe I'm just dreaming. Ar you really here?" she smiled.

"I am here," Holly smiled her crooked smile as she took a step closer to Gail.

"Best blind date ever!" Gail smiled as she wrapped her arms around Holly's neck. "I will definitely have to thank my mother" she chuckled before leaning in and capturing Holly's lips with her own once more.

The End