02.08 - Bullet Proof

Not the song, sadly. Also you actually aren't bullet proof. Everyone who wanted to know how Gail deals with Vivian getting hurt on the job, this one's for you.

As promised, all wlw who get shot will wear a vest and live to tell the tale.


"And that model, as you can see, demonstrated clearly that the long term damage resulted in a weakening of the victim's spinal integrity, resulting in the fatal collapse. Initially the breadth of injury to the spinal column was misattributed solely to the car crash. As such, the death was erroneously classified as pre-meditated murder when, in fact, it was purely coincidental. The driver of the other vehicle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and the car company was found innocent of all charges of negligence. Thank you."

The applause echoed through the room, including a hoot from someone in the far back row whom Holly knew was an excitable blonde.

"Thank you, Dr. Stewart, for your presentation." The moderator grinned as he walked up and shook her hand. "We have time for a few questions."

Holly fielded a few, fairly softball, questions cheerfully. Most people wanted to have elaboration on the tests Holly had done to reproduce the deterioration. A few others were interested in how the rendering had started with using the indentation on skulls in an unrelated case.

After that, though, she was pulled to the side to talk in depth with, of all people, the representatives from the job in San Francisco. From twenty-four years ago. That job. God, that felt like another life. They ended up chatting in the hallway for the next two lectures until, finally, a familiar voice cleared her throat.

"Excuse me doctors, but I'd like to steal my wife for lunch." A warm hand slid into Holly's, squeezing it, and tugging her away.

Once they were around the corner, Holly exhaled. "God. Thank you. They were trying to convince me I should move."

Gail made a face. "Please. When you retire, you can write for them up at the cottage."

"Oh, I like that idea." Holly grinned and bumped her shoulder against Gail's. "So. Lunch? Where's the good food?"

"How did you know I found the good food?"

"Fact check. Married for twenty years. You eat an incredible amount. You have good taste. The food here has been mediocre at best."

Gail laughed. "Fine. Fine. I got the address of, apparently, the greatest tiny Italian place. It's a train ride, though."

"Train train or subway train?"

"Subway. You in?"

Holly rolled her eyes. "You'd ditch me in Boston for food?"

"Honey, I'd ditch my own mother for good food."

Laughing, Holly slapped Gail's upper arm. "You'd ditch your mother for bad food. I have a better idea. How about we go to this Italian place for dinner and eat somewhere closer for lunch, since I want to see this afternoon's lectures."

The pout was predictable. "You don't want me to have fantastic food?"

"Not for lunch, no." Taking a hold of Gail's other hand, Holly pulled her close for a kiss. "But we're not eating here for lunch either."

Gail made a soft, happy noise. "Okay. I have an idea." She let go and tilted her wrist, activating her watch and tapping on it. "There is an asian fusion food truck down the street."

"Why am I not surprised that there is both an app for that, and that you have it?"

"You know, you don't have to eat with me." Gail tossed her head to make her fringe flip and headed out to the front of the hotel.

Poor Gail had been suffering through the conference too. It was all forensics, all the time, and while Gail certainly enjoyed it and got a lot out of it, there was very little of the work Gail did day to day. In general, Gail enjoyed cops and docs conferences. She'd even been convinced to speak at them on occasion. But this was not that kind of conference. Keeping her wife entertained had been difficult, at best, for Holly, especially since she was working.

Holly had four separate talks to give, this one being the third. The last was a panel with other doctors who'd made similar advances in science. And there was the award dinner that Holly was pretty sure she'd be getting something. She was, as it were, the belle of the ball.

Without a single complaint, Gail put up with it. In fact, she flaunted it. She celebrated how popular Holly was and showed her off at every opportunity. The blonde even went out of her way to make sure Holly looked better than she did at the evening events. Basically Gail was making it clear that she wanted everyone to know how much they'd been missing on all these years.

It was what Elaine had told her years ago. Gail loved all the parts of Holly. The silly scientist was just one more thing Gail celebrated about her. And Holly felt herself blush as she ran to catch up with Gail, taking her hand as they went out to the food truck.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

Gail paused at the revolving door. "If I tell you I'm learning things, will you make me come to more?"

Holly laughed, feeling bright and airy. "Honey, you have been proofreading my papers for decades. Plural. I know you know more about this shit than half the attendees."

"I like listening to you talk," Gail said cautiously. "And I love how excited you are about all this. And, yes, I am learning some kinda neat stuff. But. I'd rather be on a vacation."

Incurably honest. That was her wife. Holly kissed Gail's nose. "Well. Next time we'll get an extra couple days and see the sights."

"I was thinking a naked vacation."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Both?"

"Accepted." Gail grinned and tugged Holly down the street to the food cart.

They sat out in the Boston sun with their meals, enjoying the break. Could life be better, wondered Holly? Probably not. A good life, a great wife, good food, and sunshine. It was perfect.


"Does anyone actually like boy bands?" Lara kept gnawing her fingers, but this was the first question she'd actually asked since being appointed the lead for the ticket stampede.

That morning, Sgt. McNally (aka Aunt Andy if you were Vivian and not at work) had tasked the rookies with keeping order when the ticket sales for the latest hip boy band went on sale that morning. People had been camping out for days for it, once the word had gotten out that the sales would be in-person only for the VIP tickets. You stood in line, maybe you got a ticket.

"You're asking me? Do I look like I listen to boy bands?" Vivian arched her eyebrows at Lara.

"Your mother does."

Vivian grinned. "She does." Everyone knew Gail listened to boy bands after she belted out a hilarious song about a cute nerdy girl at the Penny a few weeks ago. It was the first time the masses had really heard or see Gail be the goofy Gail. One fantastic arrest where Gail herself had cracked the ringleader in interrogation, and damn it they needed to celebrate. A half bottle of tequila later, Gail was singing in public and more than half the rookies (male and female) were swooning. But Gail liked all types of music. "Stop chewing your nails, you're in charge."

With a grimace, Lara gripped her belt instead. "Why am I in charge? You should be in charge. You're a Peck, you're like, born to be in charge."

"You had the better arrest record last month." Which was because Vivian had been working on arson cases lately, after her run ins with the same firebug. Not that she really understood how a homeless man's cart, a drug flop house, and the set of Degrassi were connected. But she was the rookie. Even being assigned to that sort of things was a thrill, you just had to accept that they did not always have arrests in a normal way. Not that Vivian actually cared about those things. She did care about the arsons, so Lara being in charge was fine by her.

Lara eyed her. "Do you still get any special privileges? Being a Peck, I mean." Her friend did not mean the arsons at least. Everyone knew Viv had earned those.

"No, and I wouldn't want 'em if I did." Vivian eyed the crowd and cleared her throat.

That was all it took for Lara to look over and scowl. A small group was starting to tussle. "I'll get that. You keep watch here."

"Yes, ma'am," smiled Vivian, and she walked back towards the front of the line.

A woman in a blue coat, about Gail's age, maybe younger, spoke up. "Excuse me. Do you know when they'll be opening up? The website said 10…"

It was almost noon. "There was a server glitch this morning," explained Vivian. "They were rebooting it at nine, but the last I heard it was still down."

With a sad nod, the woman texted something on her phone. "Thank you, Officer… Peck."

Vivian nodded back. "Hope your kids say thanks," she noted.

"Oh, they'd better, little brats." But the woman was smiling. "I like the boys too, but they will flip if I get them these."

"My Mom once stayed up all night to get us tickets to the hockey playoffs," confessed Vivian. She and Holly had gone without Gail, which was just fine in all of their minds. Vivian loved all hockey games, regardless of who was playing. She was terrible at playing it, much to Gail's amusement, but she loved watching it.

"Not today though."

Vivian grinned. "No." Even had Gail and Holly been in town, it wouldn't have been their thing. Currently, the duo were in Boston this week for a business trip where Holly was a keynote speaker.

The woman smiled. "Did you say thank you? To your mom?"

"Oh, yes. But I was raised by wild dogs, so that's always a surprise."

They both laughed. "This old-school 'only in person' thing sucks," said the woman.

"Could be worse. It's not raining, it's not a billion degrees."

In fact it was a great day to be outside. It was sunny and warm but not hot. It was clear skies and the crowd wasn't too snippy. In fact, most were nice and polite and content to wait. It was a prototypical Canadian day.

Vivian turned and looked around. As a midday event, the lack of children was probably why it was so sane. Had it been screaming hordes of teenyboppers, she might have tried to convince Lt. Tran to use her again today. That stupid arson case wasn't solving itself. At least Sue was always willing to let Vivian help out, though. More since her little trigger thing panned out.

"Does it get hot? The vest?"

Blinking, Vivian turned back to the woman in line. "Oh, it's not as bad as the pants. I seriously hate whomever invented the cotton-poly blend."

The woman laughed, but the sound that registered in Vivian's brain was different. She knew the sound. Bullets hitting glass. They made a different noise than rocks or rain or anything else. Elaine had made her listen to the different noises when she was in college, ostensibly on summer vacation, to train her hearing.

"GET DOWN!" Shouting as clearly as possible, Vivian grabbed her gun handle but did not release or draw yet, and waved at the crowd. "Everyone down!" The second round of shots hit the poster for the band behind her. Vivian went cold and hot at the same time. "Dispatch, 4727, 10-33, shots fired. Repeat shots fired at the convention centre."

The echo of her words came from all her fellow rookies, reporting the same. Lara was telling them to get people under cover. Where the hell was cover? Vivian looked behind her to see the bullet holes. She was by the front door. The target. Right, get them away from the door. "Everyone, try to stay calm." Looking up, she tried to figure out where the shooter was. What the hell was he aiming at?

"Peck! Can you see anything?" That was Lara, panicked and fighting it.

"Unsub's aiming at the front door." There was a flash of glass. The scope. A rifle. "Rifle!" There was no way in hell she'd be able to get a shot off that far away. Vivian holstered her gun and another shot whizzed into the posters on the wall where people were cowering. "He's aiming here, Volk! Gotta clear 'em out."

Her words galvanized Lara. "Right! Hanford, Fuller, get the back of the crowd out of the line of fire." Lara hustled over to help Vivian. "Folks, let's get you out of the way, okay? It'll be safer by the parking lot."

One absolute idiot started to complain. "Fuck you! I've been in line for two days! I want my ticket!"

The woman Vivian had been talking to spoke up. "Are you a moron? Get the hell out of here!" And she shoved the man, lightly.

Another time that would be funny. Vivian kept her eyes on the roof and saw the rifle move. Shit. She stepped in front of the arguing man. "Sir, come on, you really don't want to stay here." She half turned when the rifle report rang out.

There was a blank spot in her memory.

Oh she remembered everything, but it was like it happened to someone else.

One second she was trying to move the idiot out of the way. The next she heard a rifle, registered that it was the same as before, and a bullet hit her just below the ribs, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the ground. All Vivian could think was a prayer to whomever invented Kevlar.

Then she panicked a little. Vivian couldn't inhale. It was like her lungs weren't working and neither were her ears. Her jaw went as wide as it could go, trying to suck in air. She clawed at the straps to her vest with one hand, her left hand, and tried to keep control of the gun in her right.

A face was over hers mouthing something... Mouthing her name. Jenny. Jenny was saying 'Peck' over and over.

Then a male body pushed in and slapped Vivian's face.

She inhaled with a painful gasp. "What the fuck, Nick?" She barely managed to wheeze out the sentence. Oh sweet mother of god, air felt good.

"Stay still, Peck. Stay down." His voice brokered no argument. "Aronson, secure her gun."

"Uh. The ... " Jesus her side hurt. "Man? Civilian?" Vivian let Jenny take the gun, holster and all, and tried to undo the straps on her vest.

"Hey. Vest stays on." Nick scowled. "If you have internal bleeding or breaks, it'll keep it in place. Keep her awake and alert."

"You saved the idiot's life," promised Jenny, as Nick left. "Just breathe, okay? Inhale. Exhale." She mimed breathing. Vivian carefully mimicked her, wincing on the inhale. Fuck. "Good. Shooter's down. Duncan took him out."

Poor Duncan. "Gerald," she mumbled and closed her eyes. Fuck it hurt.

"Hey, no, Peck. Eyes open. The bus is on the way, okay?"

Vivian squinted up at Jenny. The shooter was contained. Civilians were alive. Ambulance was on its way. "Copy," she exhaled. At Jenny's behest, Vivian kept breathing in sync with her. Her head was spinning a little, not from pain as she was pretty sure she'd not hit it, but the whole shooting felt like a daze.

"Jesus, Peck. You're nothing but trouble." That was another familiar voice, and it came with a paramedic's bag. Lunchbox. Heh. That was funny.

She eyed MacKenzie Maclean. "Hey, Mac."

"Your mother is gonna kill me."

Vivian smiled weakly. "Which one?"

"Both. You hit your head?"

"No." She inhaled to try and explain more and hissed. "Ow."

"Riiiiiiight. Stay still. We're gonna get you taken care of, Peck."

Not like she had any other choice. Vivian held a hand up and gave Mac thumbs up.


As she buttoned her shirt, Gail's phone rang. Work. Worse, Andy. Bleck. "Holly, are you ready yet?"

"I'm putting in my contacts," replied her wife from the bathroom.

"Must you?" Gail sighed and picked up her phone. She loved Holly in glasses. They were totally part of that sexy librarian thing Holly had working for her. "McNally, I have Italian food and a beautiful woman waiting for me, make it quick."

"Don't freak out."

Gail eyed her phone. "Andy, you're not making me feel calm. What happened?" There were a half dozen cases in progress, some incredibly complex and others dull as anything. The idea that Andy McNally was calling her about one was distressing.

"Vivian got shot, in the vest, she's fine."

Her world zeroed out. There was no sound but the thudding of her heart and the rushing of her blood. She couldn't think except that her baby had been shot. Gail barely registered that Holly took the phone.

Holly talked into the phone quietly, steering Gail to sit on the end of the bed. At least Gail assumed she was talking. There was no sound at all in her ears beyond her heartbeat, but Holly's mouth was moving. The hand on her shoulder was firm and not too tense. Whatever Andy might be saying, it wasn't terrifying.

The phone was put down on the bed and Holly squatted in front of Gail, taking her face in her warm, brown, hands. Her mouth was moving... She was saying Gail's name. "Honey. Look at me."

"I am," said Gail softly. "She's okay?"

"She's fine. They already let her out of the hospital before they called. Nick is taking her home. She didn't loose consciousness. She even didn't break a rib or anything. Hospital cleared her for all internal injuries." Holly gently brushed Gail's cheeks with her thumbs. "You went AWOL in there for a second."

Gail swallowed and nodded. "It ... It felt like when they told me you were sick." Closing her eyes, Gail leaned forward until Holly's hands were supporting her. "I'm sorry."

Soft lips were pressed to her forehead. "You want to call home?"

"She's not at home. She's at her home. She moved out." Gail sighed and leaned back. "I want to ... What happened?"

Holly sat down next to her. "She was working the boy band tickets. Someone fired into the crowd. John already got the shooter, I gather Duncan actually shot the man, but Vivian caught a bullet in her vest protecting someone."

"When?" Facts helped her.

"Around lunch." Lunch. So when Gail and Holly were enjoying food and sun, their child had been sitting in an ER, wounded.

"Why? What was the motive?"

"You'll like it," said Holly, smiling. "He was pissed off the band was breaking up."

Gail stared at her wife for a moment. A shooter killed, or tried to kill, innocent people just because a stupid band was breaking up. Holly was right. She loved the absurdity of the motive. Laughing, Gail covered her face with her hands. "Oh my god."

Beside her, Holly laughed too. "Honestly. Of all the ways that could have happened, this was the safest. Andy said she gets a week off." Holly held out the phone. "Call her."

"I don't want to call freaking out."

Holly looked at the phone and turned it over in her hands, thoughtfully.

It buzzed.

The phone flipped in the air as Holly freaked out and tossed it.

Gail laughed. It had to be the most hilarious moment she'd seen. Her athletic, coordinated, wife had spazzed the fuck out. As the phone skittered across the hotel's floor, and Holly dashed after it, Gail laughed so hard she cried.

"Shut up, Gail," laughed Holly, picking the phone up. "Your daughter says, and I quote, 'Ow.' Here." She held the phone out and Gail grinned.

"That was the least athletic thing I have ever seen you do."

"I said shut up." Holly sighed.

Gail took her phone, read the message, and texted back. Vivian was letting them know she had been released from the hospital and Nick had just dropped her off at home. Her plan was to order pizza and sleep. "Should we go home?"

"If this is your ploy to skip the end of the conference..."

"No. I just ... I think one of us should be there for her."

Holly reached over and cupped Gail's face between her hands. "Hey," Holly said softly. The strong thumbs brushed over her cheekbones. "We raised a smart, capable, brave, resourceful, tough as nails daughter. And she says she's okay."

"She's also twenty-four and an idiot." The phone buzzed again.

And Holly kissed her softly. "She's our idiot. Okay? What did her text say?"

Gail peeked at the phone. Then she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Holly's. "She said it hurt like hell, but she was okay. The doctor said she was fine. Rachel and Lisa said she was fine."

"Then I think we should go to dinner, honey. Your blood sugar is shot to fuck after that and you're going to have a migraine if you don't eat."

Damn it, Holly had a point. "Can I call her after dinner?"

There was another soft press of lips to her own. For a moment, Gail forgot the question and the terror. She was worried, but not horribly so. "Yes. Text her now. Call Viv after dinner."

And Holly let go of Gail's face, crossing the room to find something for dinner. "Holly... Why are you so calm?" Gail tapped in a quick message for Vivian that she loved her, and would call after dinner so please eat.

The doctor sighed. "Because. Because this I can handle. This is normal for our girl, Gail. She's a cop. She gets into danger. And I have spent the last 18 years getting ready to stomach this."

Gail frowned. "I don't like that I brought you to days like this, Holly."

"Nor do I, honey." Holly turned, tucking her shirt in. "I hate it sometimes. But I'm a cop's wife, and a cop's mother. And I know our daughter isn't alone, no matter where we are, because you filled her life with people who have her back."

"I did?" Gail felt surprised.

"You did. Everyone, including Oliver, is going to check in on her and you know it. Your friends will take care of our daughter."

Friends. That wasn't how she felt about then twenty years ago. Sometimes Gail didn't think of them like that now. But they were good friends, and they would check on Vivian. As Holly disappeared into the bathroom, Gail texted three people, asking them to check in with Viv and make sure.

Of course, Oliver would go on his own anyway, but it was polite to ask.

Gail changed her shirt and let Holly drag her out to the delicious dinner she'd been looking forward to all day, trying not to feel too terrible. Did her parents feel guilty, being away when she'd been kidnapped? Did Elaine regret it?

Before they got back to the hotel, Gail texted her mother first and asked her to check on Vivian please. Oliver had apologized, swearing he'd go as soon as he was back from visiting his in-laws. Steve had stopped by with pizza for Vivian, and said he swore at her and she'd returned the favor. That left Elaine who had not replied.

Where was her mother?

For a long time Gail stared at the phone, sitting on the hotel chair. Then she finally tapped Vivian's number. "Hi, Mom, I'm fine." Her daughter sounded exasperated already.

Weirdly, it lifted a load off her shoulders.


Everyone and their mother wanted to check on her. Including her mothers, who were still in Boston for a conference and vacation. "Mom, I'm fine," she insisted to Gail, who had asked for the fifth time.

"We can get a flight out tonight, Viv."

"Please don't," pleaded Vivian. "I didn't even break a rib. Okay? The bullet hit my vest, it knocked the wind out of me. Mac cleared me on the scene, Aunt Rachel saw me at the hospital, I had x-rays, an ultrasound on my spleen, and they practically kicked me out for being too healthy. Lisa was pissed she couldn't do any plastics on me. Please, just stay in Beam Town."

"Bean," corrected Gail. "Viv, I just... You were shot. And I promised you I'd be there for you in shit like this, no matter what—"

"Mom, you are! You had Andy and Nick and Dov, all your friends, Uncle Steve, Aunt Traci, Jesus even Noelle came by. Everyone has been here. I told you, I'm okay."

"Damn it, you're not! Don't even try to be super Peck, okay? I know how shitty it is to go through this without family."

"But I'm not! You guys gave me a huge extended family, and everyone has been here to check on me." She could hear Gail about to protest and Vivian cut her off again. "Will you please put Mom on?"

Grumbling, Gail handed the phone over and someone knocked on the door. "I got it," Christian announced, running through in his jeans, barefoot, with no shirt.

"Christian! Shirt!"

Her mother sighed on the phone. "I promise to sit on Gail, honey. She's just not used to this."

"Sorry," sighed Vivian. "Used to what?"

"Used to someone she loves being in danger like that." Holly was so resigned it was painful.

"I'm sorry." Vivian felt terribly guilty. She hadn't thought about the stress that her being a cop would put on her mothers. Not enough at least.

"No no. It's fine. It's just my normal now. I'll calm your mother down, and Elaine too if I have to."

Vivian looked over at the door and groaned. "She's here now, want to talk to her?" Holly made an unhappy noise and announced she did. "Hi, Elaine. Here's Holly." Vivian pressed the phone into her grandmother's hand and stomped into the kitchen.

With a t-shirt on, Christian cleared his throat. "Why is your family freaking out so much?"

"I don't know," she lied. She really was fine, if a little rattled and sore. But Gail, whose parents hadn't even visited her in the hospital after she'd been kidnapped, had issues with not being there for Vivian. It was like her appendix all over again. "I am fine, Christian. You can go to work."

Her roommate looked flustered. "It's just... If I was shot, you'd stay."

She snorted. "No I wouldn't. Look." Vivian lifted her shirt and showed off the bruise. "It looks bad, but really it's not that horrible." Squinting, Christian didn't look convinced, but the door rang again. "Shit. If it's Uncle Oliver, tell him I'm asleep?"

"You're lucky I like you, Peck." When he opened the door, though, the first thing he said was, "Come on in."

"Traitor," she growled and looked over to see the dark brown hair and eyes of Jamie McGann. "Oh. Hi," she muttered. Her girlfriend. Her still pretty brand new girlfriend, whom they'd just decided, over a pint of ice cream at Jamie's that they were actually girlfriends, girlfriend. Of course she was here. And Vivian recognized the look. She should have called Jamie already.

Jamie looked at the window seat, where Elaine was on the phone talking quietly. Then she looked at barefoot Christian. "I can come back later," Jamie started.

"No, no, you're, um. Please. Stay." Vivian pulled two beers out. "Christian, go away." The man vanished into his room, smiling.

"Who?" Jamie gestured at Elaine, confused.

"Oh." Vivian cleared her throat and looked at her grandmother. Of course Elaine was paying attention and held up a finger. With a final promise to the phone, Elaine hung up and tossed the phone back over. "Thanks. Um. Elaine, this is Jamie McGann. Jamie, this is Elaine Peck. My grandmother."

There was a pause before Jamie held out her hand. "You call your grandmother by her name? Nice to meet you, ma'am."

Elaine shook the hand. "She called me Miss Elaine for years. I consider it an upgrade. And you are a … friend?"

Oh, how many layers Elaine managed to put in that word. There was no way to keep it quiet now. At least she didn't make a fireman dig, but Jamie didn't look like a fireman, so maybe she could skate out of that one. "Yes," nodded Jamie, slowly and not particularly happily. "I wanted to check on her. But if family's here-"

"Oh no," Elaine shook her head. "I'm leaving, lest her mother yell at me again. Holly is sitting on Gail, by the way."

Vivian exhaled. "God thank you. I'm fine, really."

"You're not," tsked Elaine. "But you don't want us smothering you." She took an arm's length hold of Vivian and nodded. "Call me if you need anything, alright?"

"Alright," Viv promised, and she put up with a rare hug from her grandmother (who whispered that Jamie was cute). Elaine never hugged Gail, not even now, but Vivian had been special, it seemed. After Elaine left, Vivian sighed and kicked the ground. "Well. This is awkward."

"You think?" Jamie was mad at her. It was understandable.

"Everyone on the damned planet's been calling or stopping by," whinged Vivian. "I'm sorry. I didn't have a chance to —"

"To call your friend?" There was a moment of bitterness. Justified too.

Vivian put the beers down and grimaced. "I haven't talked to my moms about you, Jamie. God help me, I did not want to tell Elaine first. She's probably off to run a background check on you."

"Funny," snarled Jamie. When Vivian shrugged, the firefighter looked surprised. "Shit, you're not kidding, are you?"

"I'm really not." Vivian leaned against her kitchen island. "Elaine's the former staff superintendent of the whole damn force. She was in charge of IA when she retired." Jamie's face went a little pale. "I'm totally going to get shit from my Moms," she realized, belatedly. Damn it.

They were interrupted again, this time by Christian who bustled through with his gear slung over a shoulder. "Jamie are you staying? Because the bullhead moron there keeps swearing she's okay and she's an idiot."

Jamie crossed her arms and hesitated. "Am I?"

Ugh. Personal talk was so awkward. She nodded at Jamie and pushed the words out. "I'd like it if you stayed."

Jamie nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I got this, Christian." But they stood in the living room, the coffee table between them, silent and awkward. Tense. Christian, sensing danger, muttered that Viv should get some rest and left.

Okay. So what would Gail say right now if she'd forgotten to tell Holly about something dangerous? She'd apologize. "I should have called you," said Vivian, locking the door. "I'm sorry."

"No kidding," Jamie snarled. "I found out from my own station. Fucking MacLean asked me. 'Don't you know the patrol Peck at Fifteen? She got shot.' For fuck's sake, Viv! I had Ruby check if you were still at the hospital."

She was really batting a thousand there. Vivian pushed her hands through her hair and struggled to find something to say, because it would be inappropriate to laugh about how they called her the Patrol Peck of Fifteen. "I am sorry," she repeated. Should she mention she hadn't called her mothers either? No.

"I like you, Viv," sighed Jamie, hunching her shoulders. "You're smart and funny and sexy as hell, but god, you are the hardest person to get a sentence out of sometimes."

That was nothing new. Vivian still did that with her parents. "It's not you, Jamie," she started and winced. "God that sounded horrible."

"Just a bit, yeah." Jamie's jaw was set in a firm, very annoyed, line. "You don't want to talk about yourself. Ever."

"No, I really don't," admitted Vivian. She wanted to stop there but she knew it was now or never. Shut up and repeat every single failed relationship since she was 18, or speak and say something. Anything. She took a deep breath and pushed the words out. "I've been seeing a therapist for twenty years," she managed. "I know I'm bad about talking about myself."

Both of Jamie's eyebrows raised, her brown eyes widening in a little surprise. "That's a long time to be in therapy," she said quietly.

Vivian pushed off the counter and snatched one of the beers. "They make you see one when you're in the system." Swallowing a dry throat, Vivian popped the beer and took a long drink. It was cold and she felt like it was keeping her face from getting too hot just then. "Before I was adopted, I was a foster kid."

Hesitating a moment, Jamie picked up a beer off the table and opened it. "Still, though." Her voice was curious and careful. "Even now?"

She flipped the bottle cap between her fingers for a moment. "It's complicated. It's stuff before my Moms, and it's not like I don't know I'm screwed up, Jamie, I just … Have you ever had words just die in your mouth?"

And Jamie, thank god, nodded. "Sure. Coming out to my granddad. Jesus, that was hard. He still thinks bisexual means I'm playing around or something."

"Well it's like that," she exhaled, sitting down. "It's not like I don't want to talk about it. I mean, I don't. I wish it was just something I could ignore." Which never helped, she'd come to realize. "But even when I do, I have a hard time saying anything."

"So you just shut up," realized Jamie. "You must drive your Moms insane."

Vivian smiled tiredly. "They're really good at pulling me out. That's why I lived at home so long." That and Gail's cooking. She missed that. "If you really want to be spooked, this is way better than I was in high school."

But Jamie gave her a sad, sorry look. It wasn't quite the look people got when they found out about the other stuff, and it wasn't really annoying. The look people wore when they saw the sad foster kid galled her. This was something else. Something Vivian didn't really recognize. "This is why your family's all over hyped and checking with you?"

That wasn't the question she'd expected. Vivian grimaced, "They worry about me."

Jamie sighed, exasperated. "You know, I'm trying here, Viv. I get that it's complicated and you don't want to talk about it, but … it's like you don't trust me."

Vivian blinked. How did it get over there? "It's—" She stopped, her tongue froze on it's own and Vivian dug a fingernail into her hand. Nope. That wasn't helping get the words out. "It's not trust, Jamie."

"How come you haven't told your moms about me?"

Leaning back against the couch, Vivian looked at the ceiling. She could answer that one. "Because you're a fireman and my Mom's prejudiced, so I'm trying to break it to her gently."

"Wait, which Mom are you talking about?"

"Gail. It's a Peck thing. I have a couple relatives who are firemen. I mean really related. Not like people who have the same last name, Jamie. We're family who do barbecues together."

Jamie scrunched up her face in the way Vivian found adorable. "Shay. She's really your aunt? That wasn't a joke?"

"No joke. And she's my cousin. Once removed or something." Vivian tucked her legs up underneath her.

"My fucking boss is your cousin?" When Vivian nodded, Jamie scowled. "How the hell can she be so calm about you being shot at?"

"We're all cops," sighed Vivian. So Shay knew she'd been shot too. Awesome. "Except Shay and a couple accountants. But everyone rags on the firemen."

"That actually makes sense. Shay always says her family thinks she's the reject." Jamie frowned. "You think your Moms won't like me?"

"I don't want ... Gail can be really intense. I don't want her to be... I don't want her to be all 'Gail' on you." After making air quotes around her mother's name, Vivian sipped her beer. "Holly's more relaxed," she added thoughtfully.

"That wasn't what I asked."

Vivian hesitated. "I think they'll like you. I don't know if they'll like your job."

"That's nothing new." Jamie kept frowning and sipped her beer. "You're not broken," she finally said. "You're very odd, but you're not broken."

She couldn't get away with not explaining it. "I know." Vivian paused and came to an abrupt realization. It didn't feel like a massive hurdle to get the words out. Suddenly it was easy to say some of the words. To tell Jamie about the shooting the year before, which she hadn't even told Matty about and they talked about almost everything. Just not death. She could start with something simple. "My Moms are freaking out because they're worried I'm going to have flashbacks."

The other woman paused, her beer halfway to the table. "Flashbacks." Much like Gail, Jamie didn't ask questions when she was sure she heard something right, she just repeated the word she wanted elaboration on. It was familiar.

Familiar helped a lot. "A year ago, I was on a domestic and a guy blew his head off with a rifle-gauged handgun," she explained. Vivian hugged a knee to her chest. "Right in front of me. He just swung the gun up and ..." The rest of the words died on her tongue. The last thing Vivian wanted to do was explain her birth parents. And yet. "That was how my... Uh." She waved one hand by her face. Say it. Vivian swallowed and said in a rush. "That's how my birth father died."

Jamie was silent for a moment. It didn't make Vivian nervous, weirdly enough. This was a woman who spent her days running into buildings on fire. Jamie was used to a little danger and insanity, and kept calm under pressure. But she asked something unexpected. "Are you having flashbacks?"

She wanted to know if Vivian was okay.

She didn't ask what they were or any details. She asked about Vivian.

God.

That felt comforting. It felt like when Gail would hug her. Or when Holly held Vivian in her lap and let her wear herself out crying because Gail was missing. It felt safe. A little disconcerting and disorienting, but in a good way. The world had shifted itself for Vivian, and she wasn't quite sure how that had happened.

Vivian nodded and then shook her head. "No. Not yet at least." All she'd thought about when she was shot was how much it hurt, and how ballsy Andy was, who'd been shot and stabbed and insisted on working. The only reason she thought about her birth parents at all was because Gail had asked about it.

Jamie looked at her quietly. "Well. That sucks."

And Vivian laughed softly. "Yeah, yeah it does."

Kicking the ottoman over, Jamie let her knee bump into Vivian's quietly. "I'm sorry. About your Moms being overprotective."

"I get it," admitted Vivian. "But they drive me nuts sometimes."

"They love you."

She knew that. Her parents were amazing. "They do." Vivian nodded. "I'm just ... I really have a hard time talking about myself."

"Even when you get shot?"

"Apparently."

Jamie studied her face. "I wish I could see what was going on in your head, Viv," she sighed. Then she put a hand on Vivian's knee. "Okay. Serious question. Are you really okay?"

That was such a loaded question. On oh so, so, many levels of that question was her answer a big fat no. "I think so," she replied slowly. "Physically, yes."

And Jamie reached over and cupped her chin in a hand, studying her face. "Yeah. Okay." She leaned in and kissed Vivian softly before taking her hand back to rake through her own hair. "You look like your normal, weird, introverted self."

"Sorry," sighed Vivian. "Are we okay?"

"I think so," mused Jamie. "I mean, I have no idea what we are half the time."

Vivian closed her eyes for a moment. Then she squinted at Jamie, "I thought we were dating." She knew she liked Jamie. She was fun and smart and fit. The fit caught her eye but the smart was why she accepted when Jamie her out for a drink. But to say it was something more, like love, was weird and crazy and Andy levels of rushing into things. "I like you, Jamie. And ... God, I hope I'm not sending mixed messages or something stupid, but I do like you. A lot." She reached over and took Jamie's hand, worried. The fireman squeezed her hand back.

"I like you too. A lot. But you're a little messed up," Jamie pointed out. "You don't trust people not to hurt you."

"I trust you," Vivian said before the words really processed in her head. When Jamie looked surprised, Vivian sighed. "I do. You— you're not looking at me like I'm some sad, screwed up, little girl."

Jamie screwed her face up. "Oh. Yeah, okay, people are fucked up. But I think you're pretty awesome. And ... I would like to say we're girlfriends."

"Aren't we? I thought we already had that conversation." They'd had it over ice cream at Jamie's, when her adorable firefighter girlfriend had babbled worthy of Holly and Vivian had suddenly understood why Gail always cut her off with a kiss.

They looked at each other for a moment. Jamie was a bit incredulous, while Vivian was slightly confused. Then Jamie laughed. "Except for the part where you apparently haven't told anyone about that, yeah."

A series of very 'Gail' responses ran through her head, all inappropriate, before Vivian smiled and let her inner Holly reply. "We are. And I told C and Matty. And if it matters that much, I'll tell Moms when they call me tomorrow. And Oliver, and anyone you like. Just... do I have to right now? Because you're here and I'm sorry and ... can't we eat pizza and watch something stupid?"

Jamie's smile was a little abashed and delighted and shy. Happy. Jamie was happy. Good. That was the right thing to say. And Jamie's face softened. "You're not just saying all that to make me feel better, are you?"

Vivian smiled tiredly. "I'm not. If I was trying to make you feel better, it'd be some sob story about how I've never talked to anyone who aren't my parents about how I'm feeling." And Jamie seemed to accept that. "I just... I know my therapist will have a field day with this one, but I just want to hang out with you and maybe make out, have dinner, and watch some show where people are being evil or stupid to each other and we can laugh at them."

She wanted what her mothers did every time they had a phenomenally crap day. Gail would sulk until Holly toyed with her hair and turned on a mean cooking show. Holly would twitch until Gail hauled her into her arms and turned on sports. Most of the time they'd stop watching the show and start kissing instead, which was both annoying and sweet. Sometimes they'd start fiddling with the other's ring, smiling.

Her parents were hopelessly in love, though. It was way too much to hope for something like that without the constant effort she saw her parents putting into their relationship. And it wasn't like Vivian felt like cuddling. She just wanted to be with Jamie for a while. Exist.

Getting up, Jamie took off her coat. "Fine, but we're ordering food first. That pizza is crap."


It was seven in the morning when Gail called home, against Holly's recommendation. "Why did I have to find out you have a girlfriend from my mother?"

Holly glanced over at Gail and sighed. It had taken hours of negotiations to convince Gail that haring off home to hover over their daughter would be worse. Vivian was not Gail. Gail needed support in person. Vivian, weirdly, did not. Vivian liked to process and then ask for support. Gail would never ask, but desperately want. "Gail Peck, stop it."

Predictably, Gail stuck her tongue out and ignored Holly, listening to the phone carefully. "Okay, fair enough. I'm still hurt. What's her name?"

Sighing, Holly gave up and got out of bed. It was the second to last day of the conference, but nothing was scheduled until ten that morning. She picked up the schedule and glanced at it. Oh, there was morning yoga soon. "Gail, we're going to yoga," she announced.

"What?" Her wife looked surprised. "Oh. No, not you, Monkey. Your mom's making me go to yoga… Did this Jamie McGann take care of you last night?"

Who? Oh. The girlfriend. Elaine had called them back shortly after Holly had told her off for harassing Vivian, and informed them that Vivian had an girlfriend who was short and brown and had a sweet face, and why didn't they all know about this. While Holly, technically, had known there was a someone, she didn't know it was at Girlfriend Levels yet. Surprise. "Gail, invite them to dinner."

The blonde rolled her eyes in acknowledgement. "Get her schedule. She's coming over for dinner … So Thursday or Friday. Tell me what she likes when you tell me when."

Good. Holly got out their workout clothes and put Gail's on the bed. As she dressed she listened to Gail ask Vivian what she'd expected. "She probably thought you'd get all Peck on her, honey," Holly offered.

"Vivian, I don't care who you date. Liv, a firefighter, a boy. I care that you're happy." Gail eyed Holly and mouthed 'firefighter' carefully. Oh. Well that would explain why Vivian was iffy about the whole thing. Gail sighed loudly. "Were you really nervous about that? … I promise to be on my best behavior."

Holly snorted. "Thin promise."

"Both of you shut up… Yes she's right here. Okay." Gail held out the phone. "Holly, Monkey wants to talk to you."

Always the monkey. "You didn't tell Mom," Vivian said to Holly, as soon as she picked up.

"No. No I did not." Holly knew right away what Vivian meant. She had not so much as mentioned to Gail that there was a girl on the horizon. "A firefighter though. Now I understand the reticence."

"Thanks," said Vivian softly. And then. "I am really glad I'm not as pale as Mom."

Holly laughed. "How bad does it look?"

"Pretty bad. Doesn't hurt that much, I think. I don't have anything to compare it to."

"What about the time you stopped the field hockey ball with your back?"

"Oh. It's not as blue, more purple. Want a picture?"

"Send it to my phone. Your mother will have a conniption fit." When Vivian agreed to do so, Holly added. "I want a picture of her too. This Jamie."

Vivian groaned. "You guys are horrible."

"No," teased Holly. "Horrible is saying she's probably really fit." Vivian gagged. "I promise not to let Gail ask about your sex life if you make this girl promise not to make a dildo joke."

"No way." Vivian laughed. "Mom did not do that to grandma! Did she?"

But Holly laughed the serious laugh. "She did! Lily was far too interested in my sexual satisfaction from a straight girl... Your firefighter isn't straight, is she?"

"Her name is Jamie, Mom. She's really hot, she's smart. She went to college and everything. And she's dated girls before."

Holly made a noise of appreciation and filed away the answer. Jamie was probably bi and not a lesbian. Well. Nothing wrong with being bisexual. Gail was, after all. "And she's taking care of you while we're gone. I already like her."

"I like her." Vivian sighed. "Absolute fail at explaining what's broken in my head, though."

"Honey. You are not broken."

"You know what I mean, Mom."

"I do," Holly said firmly. "You're not broken. You and your mother can cut that shit out, okay?" She caught Gail's look of surprise out of the corner of her eye and pointed at the blonde. Gail quickly held her hands up in surrender, and Holly mouthed for her to get dressed.

"Okay," said Vivian softly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, honey." Holly glanced at Gail. "What did you tell her?"

Vivian hesitated. "I told her Mom was worried I'd have flashbacks."

How odd. This was the feeling of having one's heart separate from the body. Suddenly she was soaring and yet smothered by the weight of the universe. Vivian had told someone some part of her past. At the same time, Vivian had to continually be reminded of that past. Holly wanted to rush over and sweep her daughter into her arms, like she had when Vivian was a small girl. Protect her, let her know she was loved, and that it was all alright.

Only that wasn't her job just then. Because Vivian had told this girl, this Jamie. And Jamie was still there.

"Did you?" It was the only thing Holly could safely say.

"No." Vivian was honest and a little surprised.

"Good. Good. Did you sleep okay?" There was a long pause. Oh ho ho! Holly grinned. So Jamie had stayed over. "Where is she?"

"Uh. The kitchen apparently?" Vivian made a noise and whinged. "I just woke up. Yes. Okay, I slept fine. And I … Yeah, I did. It was weird and really nice. I feel asleep. I didn't know she was going to stay."

Holly frowned. Hadn't Pia spent the night? Well, there probably hadn't been much sleeping going on. "I suggest you go make coffee for her."

"Yeah, I should. I literally just woke up when Mom called."

"Sorry. I told her not to. She never listens to me."

Vivian laughed. "God, no kidding. It's really… Um. It's peaceful, sleeping with someone else. I felt … safe." Her voice was so small and shy, Holly barely heard it. Not embarrassed at all, Vivian sounded surprised and happy. Confused, but not embarrassed.

Safe. Holly remembered the first time she'd spent in bed with Gail, together. It had been after the haircut and while there had been an incredible amount of tension since they both wanted to do more than sleep, and they both knew that would be phenomenally stupid, it had been one of the best night's sleep she'd ever gotten. Of course, after twenty years, it was more of a case of resonance now. Holly was so used to Gail's breathing and sleep patterns that the snoring was rather soothing.

Her poor kid. Had Vivian shared a bed with anyone for comfort except Gail and Holly? She'd mentioned once that she'd slept in Kimmy's bed, but never her parents. Holly sighed. "Well. I'm looking forward to meeting Jamie, honey. But I have to Mom you. Are you really okay?"

Vivian was quiet for a moment, and Holly could feel how serious she was. "I am," she said with a tone of surprised certainty. "I'm sore, but I'm okay. I just … I want Jamie to know why I am absolute shit at sleeping over. And why Mom was freaking the hell out."

"Gail does not handle that kind of stress well." Holly lamented but understood. "I can only imagine how horrible it was when you thought I was dying of Ebola."

Vivian laughed softly. "Remember how she got when Elaine had the heart thing? Multiply it by a million. She is so stupid in love with you, Mom."

"She's stupid alright," chuckled Holly. Elaine had made her heart attack worse by calling her children after her discharge. Both Pecks had exploded in terror and rage. "She's making faces at me. I think she wants brunch."

"Please do not let me get between the care and feeding of Inspector Peck," she replied. "Don't let her get out of yoga. Love you, Moms."

"Love you too. Tell her when you're ready, if you're ready."

Gail leaned over Holly's shoulder. "I love you too, Monkey."

Holly rolled her eyes and shoved Gail away. "See? There you go. We'll see you when we get back."

"I'll meet you at the airport?"

"Ah, that would be wonderful, honey. Love you." And Holly hung up. "See? She's okay."

"That's a damn lie." Gail pulled a tight shirt on. "But she'll be okay."

"She's not in a a bathroom cutting off her hair." Holly tugged her shoes on. "Come on. Yoga."

Gail held her arms out. She was dressed and looking a little sad. "Okay."

Oh dear. It was the hurt puppy expression. Holly took Gail's hands. "Honey. It's okay." She squeezed the pale hands. "She's not hurt. Rachel checked and sent me her files. Oliver is bringing her donuts. Her girlfriend stayed over."

At that, Gail smirked. "Her girlfriend, wow. I didn't see that coming."

"I did." Holly picked up a room key and tucked it into her waist pocket.

Gail narrowed her eyes. "You knew." She followed Holly out to the hall. "You totally knew!"

"I had an inkling. Not that she was a firefighter, but that she had a girl she was interested in."

"Damn it." Gail snarled and slapped Holly's butt. "Tell me next time."

Holly chuckled. "No, I don't think I will. Mommy / daughter secrets are sacrosanct. I didn't tell you about Liv either."

Huffing, Gail stabbed the elevator button. "You're a dick, Holly."

"And here I thought not having one was part of why you loved me so."


Her daughter was holding up a sign. Plus Ones.

Gail sighed. "I thought Lisa was picking us up."

"Change of plans. Hi, honey." Holly beamed and wrapped Vivian into a big, Mom Hug.

Oh, so Holly knew this too. "Hey, kid. Whose car?"

"Yours. It has more trunk space." Vivian hesitated and then gave Gail a quick hug. It was surprising. "Come on." Vivian took Gail's suitcase.

Smiling, Holly looped an arm through Vivian's free one. "Where's Jamie, and why don't I have a photo yet?"

"She's at work, and because ew?" Vivian looked beseechingly at Gail, rolling her eyes. "Mom, help me out here?"

"No, no I want to see her too. When is she coming to dinner?"

"Later. Here..." Vivian held the bag towards Gail, who took it and let Vivian fish out her phone. By the time they got to the car, Vivian had pulled up a photo of Jamie.

The girl was cute. She had warm brown eyes, almost like Holly but brighter. More earthy. Like Vivian, she was annoyingly athletic looking, even in a long sleeved shirt and jeans. The photo had been taken in Vivian's kitchen, and Jamie held a mug of coffee and wore one of Vivian's sports shirts, a quizzical smile, and had impressive bed head. Longish, frizzy, nearly black brown hair.

Nice.

She looked nice. Like a good person.

"She's cute," said Holly, studying the photo. "How old is she?"

Vivian groaned. "She just turned 23."

Gail smirked. "Younger woman. Holly?"

"Shut up, you," said Holly with a laugh, elbowing Gail lightly. They tossed the bags in and Gail hopped into the back seat. "I'm looking forward to meeting her, Viv."

Their daughter sighed as she started the car. "I'm not, Mom. No offense, but ..." Vivian caught Gail's eyes in the rear view mirror before she backed out.

"But I'm a Peck," said Gail. She was self aware enough to know the issues. "Vivian, I'm serious. If you're happy, that's all I care about."

Vivian didn't reply right away. She concentrated on the road, getting out of the airport, and on to the highway. "Why is it a big deal?"

Good question. "I think, historically, since all Pecks are cops, we looked down on the ones who weren't." In truth, Gail knew that her own great grandfather had a brother who was a fireman. And that was where the family split began.

"We have long established that your family is insane, Gail." Holly yawned. "God, I'm sorry, Viv. I just want to eat and sleep. Can we order something?"

Before Gail could answer, Vivian scoffed. "What the hell? There's chicken in the oven. Potatoes, brussels sprouts, a salad. I put it all in for you before I stole your car. We're gonna have dinner and then I'm going to sleep in my own apartment. Alone, Mom." She glared at Gail through the rearview mirror.

Gail grinned. "Why not? She working tomorrow too?"

"Yes, she's off Tuesday at noon."

Interesting. Had the kid memorized her schedule? Latent Peck talents were popping up all over the place. "Dinner Thursday or Friday then. She'll want to do laundry first."

Holly turned in her seat. "Why do you know so much about a firefighter's habits? Did you date a fireman to piss off your mother?"

"No," Gail said and stuck her tongue out. "I'm just awesome."

"And egotistical." Vivian was smirking. It was not endearing. "I'll text her later."

Gail leaned back in the car and smiled. "So. What the hell happened?"

And Vivian groaned. "Noelle bet you'd ask about that."

"I'm sorry, my kid got shot! Of course I'm wondering what happened!"

Vivian pulled off the main road and down their street. She didn't reply until after the garage door opened. "Pee, I'll tell you at dinner?"

That was fair. They got inside and, within thirty minutes, were sitting at the kitchen table with good food and the laundry started. Once Holly agreed to suspend the no shop talk rule at the table, Vivian explained what had happened, how she'd been watching the line, and how she'd kept eyes on the shooter.

"You know, I remember that happening before. A woman was murdered in front of McNally. Arterial spray all over." Gail tapped her lips. "Large events like that are always sketchy."

"The part that pisses me off is how dumb they are," said Vivian. "One dumb ass didn't want to lose his place in line."

Holly was dumbfounded. "He was being shot at!"

Alas, Gail knew that sort of behavior to be common. "People care more about their own lives than others. And sometimes it's not their life but the meaningless crap that makes them feel better that they care about."

Frowning, Holly stabbed a potato on her plate. "That is beyond stupid."

"How'd you catch the murderer?" Vivian looked interested. "And why don't I know this story?"

Gail smiled. "It wasn't that interesting if you're not McNally." But she told the story of how she and Dov talked to the nerd, with herself as nerd bait. Holly coughed and blushed at that remark. Yes, Gail knew she was always, totally, nerd bait and lesbian bait. Poor Holly never stood a chance. But her wife and daughter listened when Gail told them about the carpet and the evidence and how they'd totally spotted it.

In return, Holly told them about the time a crazy patient held Bitch Tits at knife point with a scalpel back in med school. It was a new story to Gail, too, who teased Holly that even after all their years, they still had novel things to tell each other. Holly's argument was that it was more Lisa's story than her own, and admitted she'd hidden in the back.

But. Travel wore a person out. Both Gail and Holly were tired. Vivian was probably tired. Instead of dragging on story time, Gail suggested they put an end to the day and get some sleep. She went to change the laundry loads first, giving Holly and Vivian some privacy together. They liked to talk about matters of the heart, feelings and all that. The things Gail and Vivian both generally had a hard time talking about.

By the time she got back, Holly was gone and Vivian was loading the dishwasher. "Hey, where's your mom?"

"She went to shower." Vivian glanced over. "I'm not spending the night."

"I know." Gail walked over and picked up the roasting pan. "You know it scared the hell out of me."

Her daughter snorted. "Scared you? Shit, I was terrified. It hurt like hell!"

"Not fun, huh?" Nodding, Gail scrubbed the pot. "Your mom held it together the whole time we were gone. Her adrenaline rush crash is always fun." Holly's breakdowns over drama were almost always later and a little strange compared to the rest of the world. She'd probably sleep 10 hours and be emotionally hungover the next day. And moody. Because now it was safe.

On the other hand, Gail just carried that fear with her and in her while doing what she had to do. Or she froze. Usually only in front of Holly, though that idiot who'd shot at her and John certainly was another moment. It was safe to fracture in front of Holly.

Vivian sighed and closed the dishwasher, leaning on it. "I'm sorry I scare you guys, but..." She faltered.

"You have to be this. You have to go out there again and get shot at because that's who you are," said Gail softly. "You're a part of something bigger now, and if that's what fills up your heart, it's okay."

For a moment, Vivian stared at the ground. Then she stabbed the buttons on the dishwasher. "I don't really trust people not to hurt me," she said quietly.

"I know."

"How do I not screw things up with Jamie?"

Gail blinked. Her kid was asking her for relationship advice? Shit. "You know... You try." She pushed her hands through her hair. "What'd you tell her?"

Vivian cracked her knuckles. "I told her you guys were freaking out because last year. When I saw the guy blow his head off I got flashbacks 'cause of how my birth father died."

Never did Vivian call him her father. It was her birth father. She was still mad at him. Eighteen years. And Gail could not blame her. "What did she say?"

"She said that sucked."

Gail smiled. "She's right."

But then Vivian mumbled. "Didn't tell her how he died."

What? Gail arched her eyebrows. "You mean that you were there?" Her daughter nodded. "Well. That's okay. Took me a long time to tell your mom stuff about Perik."

Even now, Holly didn't know everything. They'd never talked about seeing Jerry get stabbed. How the feeling of absolute helplessness drove her to remain a cop. She had to make up for his death. That day, those twenty-four hours were indelibly carved into her soul and bone and blood, and made her who she was now. The story just wasn't one Holly needed to hear, nor one Gail needed to tell.

The younger Peck nodded. "Thanks."

"Look. Whatever you tell her, or don't, just don't lie to her. Tell her you can't tell her. If you can tell her why, that may help, but that's hard, kiddo. But... Wanting to. That's kinda huge."

Again, Vivian nodded. Gail hesitated and then held an arm out. Her daughter bit her lip and then stepped in for a hug. It was rare. Generally it was Holly their child went to for a comforting hug, and even then Holly initiated them. But this was how Gail's relationship with her daughter worked. An offer, an acceptance. A hug.

"It's fine, Monkey," she said gently, holding her close like she had when Vivian was six. Whatever it would be, they would still be there for her.


It was a new sensation, having a girlfriend over for hanging out on the couch like this. Jamie was shorter than Vivian, but she was tougher and more muscular, and yet incredibly comfortable to lean against. And watch Agatha Christie on Netflix. Not that they were cuddling or leaning on each other just then. Jamie sat on one end of the couch, Vivian the other, and their legs overlapped. Sometimes Jamie would rub her foot, but in general they were just quietly together.

"You're weird," said Vivian, finally, as the case was solved and the orchestra swelled.

"What?"

"You actually like this stuff!"

"You're the cop."

"Not a detective. Not my thing."

Jamie pinched her leg and laughed when Vivian yelped. "Not gonna follow your mom's footsteps?" Jamie already knew Vivian was interested in ETF, but as there was no opening, it had only been theoretical.

Sticking her tongue out, Vivian sat up and stretched. "No one in right mind would. You haven't even met her yet."

"Two days." Smiling brightly, Jamie leaned in and kissed Vivian lightly.

"How are you not nervous?" Vivian squinted the near distance at her girlfriend.

"Oh I'm terrified. I told the captain I was dating you and going to meet Gail." But Jamie kissed her again, belying her words. Or masking them. Hard to say. "She said good luck."

Vivian rolled her eyes and smiled, leaning in to kiss a little more languidly. "Are you trying to distract yourself? 'Cause I'm for it if it means you're staying tonight."

Laughing, Jamie leaned forward, tipping Vivian back into the arm of the couch. "You spend the night once and suddenly your girl gets all clingy." They settled back, Jamie holding most of her weight off of Vivian with her arms. "If you say ow, it ain't happening."

"I won't say another word," said Vivian, aware of the joke and how Holly would laugh and blush later. But unless her ribs were killing her, she was not giving this up for the world.

And of course there was a knock at the door as they started to move to a place where Vivian was about to suggest the bedroom. "Peckling. I have donuts." Only one person on the planet dared call her that. She sighed and dropped her head back.

Sitting up, Jamie smirked. "Peckling?"

"Oliver," grimaced Vivian, sneaking in another kiss. "I told you about him. He's basically my uncle." Vivian got up and opened the door, not even questioning why Oliver was back. He'd come by once, shortly after Jamie had gone home the first day, with cookies. "Hi, Ollie." She greeted him with a hug and whispered, "Please be nice."

Oliver peered in. "Oh you have a friend. Hello friend." He gave her a knowing look.

Locking the door again, Vivian watched her uncle put out a coffee cake and a small box of donuts. "Oliver, this is Jamie McGann." Vivian took a breath. "My girlfriend."

Smiling and holding out her hand, Jamie offered, "She told me you're why she's a cop."

"She flatters me," smiled Oliver. He shook her hand and sized up Jamie in one go.

"You're my favorite guy," Vivian admitted. It was true on many levels, but he and Uncle Steve were the only men she trusted unconditionally. Even C she had doubts on. She trusted him enough to live with him, but he was iffy mostly because he'd kissed her that one, stupid, somewhat drunk time. But Oliver was special. He was the only person besides Holly who could hug Gail without warning.

Jamie grinned. "She talks about you, which is saying something."

Oliver hooted. "Her mother isn't any better. Have you met Gail yet?" When Jamie shook her head, Oliver slapped Vivian's arm. "You, Peckling, are trouble. She gets it from Gail. Getting emotions out of that one is something only Holly's been able to do." And Oliver froze, looking worried.

"She knows I have two Moms, Ollie," sighed Vivian. "And she's coming over to Moms' for dinner in two days. How much do I have to pay you to get everyone else to leave me alone for a couple more days?"

"That depends on when you're seeing your therapist, darling."

Vivian broke off part of a donut. Old fashioned, her favorite. "Already done. Morning after. And again yesterday with the department counselor."

"Hey!" Jamie scowled. "Donuts are for breakfast."

"Donuts are for eating!" Even if she was only going to have one that night, it was a delightfully sinful treat.

Oliver laughed. "You are Gail's kid, Peckling." Oliver leaned in to kiss her forehead. "What about you, Miss Jamie McGann?"

"I don't have a therapist. Yet. I'm sure I will." When Oliver looked confused, Jamie added, "I run into burning buildings and rescue people."

Oliver's eyes widened. "You tell Gail?"

"Yup." Vivian shoved more of the donut in her mouth and spoke around it. "That's when she said to bring her over for dinner."

"How very un-Peckish," Oliver mused.

Wasn't it though? Vivian grinned after she swallowed. "Conversations with Mom never go the way I'm expecting."

Jamie looked between them. "Okay, now you're starting to make me nervous."

But Oliver, wonderfully sweet and kind Oliver, just smiled. "You, fireman- firewoman?"

"Firefighter," suggested Vivian. Jamie's nerves seemed to be fading visibly as they bantered.

"Yes. You, firefighter McGann, have nothing to fear. While the fearsome ice princess demon that is Gail Peck can be terrifying, the mercurial young Peckling here will not attempt to introduce you to her without the beautiful and wise buffer known as Holly Stewart. Because Holly has the magical power to tame my Petulant Peck into a proper human."

Jamie's eyebrows raised. When Vivian nodded, they went higher. "Do you give them all nicknames?"

Oliver grinned. "Her uncle Steve is my Keystone Peck."

Smiling, Vivian added, "He didn't give Holly one. I don't know why."

"Holly's special," Oliver said firmly. "And I promise, she'll stop Gail from being... From being Gail."

Jamie sighed. "Well. This should be interesting. I thought Viv and Shay were exaggerating."

"Shay?" Oliver eyed Jamie. "Captain Shay Peck? Don't tell me she's your captain." When Jamie bit her lip, Oliver laughed. "Tell Fire Peck I say hello."

"Do you know everyone?" Jamie sounded exasperated, but Vivian and Oliver only laughed.

When Oliver left it wasn't even ten at night. "Thank god it was Uncle Ollie," mused Vivian, putting the dishes in the machine. "He'll tell everyone to back off for a couple more days." Elaine had managed to do that, but her magic had worn off that morning when John showed up to check on her and in an unsubtle manner inquire as to the status of Jamie as girlfriend.

"You really don't talk a lot," Jamie replied, a little off the topic.

"Huh?"

"Oliver talks a lot. You just let him."

"Well. That's Ollie." She shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Are you staying the night again?"

"Is that an invitation?"

Vivian felt the need to fold in on herself crawling up. It was as if the time with Oliver had robbed her of any more ability to people. "I'd like it. If you stayed. I liked that you stayed the other night."

Hesitating, Jamie looked up the stairs to Vivian's room. Then she sighed. "Okay, you never spend the night at my place."

Oh. Vivian wasn't going to get out of this without talking about it, was she? Well. This was either going to make or break things. "I didn't ... Um. Okay, I left something out before."

Jamie sat in the window sill, the same place Elaine had sat days before. The stained glass, lit by the outdoor street lamps, gave her skin a curious coloring. "You mean about the flashbacks?" Jamie was smart. She was always smart. That was a lot of why Vivian liked her.

"It's ... " And she stopped. Closing her eyes, Vivian took a deep breath. "I had nightmares, a lot, growing up. Slept with the light on." A lot of children did that, Vivian knew intellectually. "I'm not afraid of the monster under the bed, I'm afraid of the monsters in people." She had to talk around the issue.

The other woman said nothing for a long moment. "Of me?"

Vivian shook her head right away, eyes snapping open. "No. And... Not Ruby. It's... My birth father killed everyone else, Jamie. And he saw me. I was coming home from a sleep over. He saw me, and he still shot his head off."

Never had Vivian told the story, any part of it, to someone who didn't already know. As a child, her therapists had been informed of the case notes beforehand at her mothers' behest. As an adult, she'd made certain of it. That meant she'd never before seen the look on someone's face as the words ordered themselves properly and the past was revealed.

"Oh." Jamie's voice was sudden and small. But then her eyes widened. "Oh." The tone was deeper the second time, more revelatory. "Jesus... Do you— Every time you sleep over somewhere? You— you remember?"

"Kind of." Vivian bit the inside of her cheek. "It's a trigger. Nightmares, jerking awake. Moms were worried the first time they brought me on vacation, but being with them helps. A lot."

And Jamie looked enlightened. "Which is why you lived at home until this year. Wow. Yeah." Then she asked, "Didn't you go to the Academy?"

"Yeah, I had my own room in the dorms." She plucked at a loose thread on the couch. Her own room and two hours of driving, each way, every weekend, because she didn't really get good sleep at the academy.

And Jamie's face softened. She exhaled loudly. "It's not fair, you know. I want to be pissed at you for not telling me about getting shot, or not telling me why you can't sleep over. You can be very frustrating." She grumbled. "Did you just not sleep at my place?"

"Not a wink," sighed Vivian. "Tried. I didn't want you to think I just wanted to bang and go."

Jamie's eyes narrowed, crinkling ever so slightly in a smile. "So when you said you had that falling dream where you jerk yourself awake?"

Vivian grimaced. "Kind of. I did, just the stuff leading up to the falling in the dream is... unpleasant." She hesitated and added, "It's like the only time, too. I used to have them more often."

"But you can sleep here?"

Glancing up, Vivian saw Jamie was really trying to make sense of Viv's brain. Good luck. It was her own brain and Vivian didn't understand it herself half the time. "Yeah. It's like… I can sleep in my home, but other peoples' is weird. I was okay on vacations, but I'm with my Moms then." She didn't know why she could sleep at her grandparents and not Elaine's though. Probably because her mothers were there, and Gail would protect them from anything.

Jamie drummed her heels on the wall. "It's easier with tall, dark, and dumb here, huh?"

Vivian smiled. Christian didn't like the nickname, but Jamie felt he was just too simple for words. "Yes and no. I don't mind being home alone. And I'm not... I'm not asking you to stay because of that. I'm asking because I really like you, and I want to be with you."

And Jamie, Jamie nodded. Getting up, she walked up to Vivian and held out a hand. They walked to the master bedroom, hand in hand, Vivian flipping off lights as they went. "Can I ask something?"

"Anything." When Jamie looked skeptical, Vivian frowned. "I mean it. Anything."

Hesitating, Jamie slowed and looked at the wall. "I've been meaning to ask this... Why are there dinosaurs on your walls?"

Vivian laughed. "Gail did that. I have dinosaurs on the wall in my bedroom at the house." As they got to her bedroom, she told Jamie the story of how she'd been allowed to pick her paint colors and decor at six. And how Gail and Holly's mother and Elaine helped her paint them. "When I moved here, Gail put them up on the wall to make it feel like home."

"That's incredibly adorable. Everyone makes Gail sound fierce and angry and dangerous. But you make her sound sweet and kind of awesome." Jamie paused as she took in the room, looking for something.

Kissing her girlfriend softly, Vivian pointed at the back of the door. "The others are in the corner there —"

"Saw that."

"— and in the bathroom."

Jamie glanced and nodded. Then she carefully cupped Vivian's face and drew her down for a kiss. "Every once in a while you are sweet and tender."

Smiling into the kiss, Vivian took hold of Jamie's waist. "It's the secret Peck underbelly," she murmured. "Outside we're icy and distant. Inside we're gooey and soft."

"I think I need to investigate that for myself," said Jamie, teasing.


The moment the waitress took their orders, Elaine turned into Herr Peck mode.

"Do you want to know about her?"

"Honestly, Elaine." Holly sighed. "Did you really have to run a background check on her?" Gail had sworn not to, but really Holly wasn't shocked that Elaine had. Just annoyed.

Her mother-in-law sighed. "Yes, I did. First of all, Vivian didn't tell you about her. Second... I know the name McGann."

"No." Holly stabbed her fork in Elaine's direction. "No, you are not going to tell me all her secrets. That's not our business."

Elaine looked slightly distressed. "I seem to have fallen back into bad habits."

"You did," agreed Holly. "Anyway, Viv's bringing her over for dinner. Gail's gone a little overboard, figuring out what to cook."

Nodding, Elaine picked at her salad. "She's so fragile," said the older woman.

No need to say who 'she' was. While both her Pecks were fragile, shoring up their hearts behind their name and their badge, Elaine was clearly worried about Vivian just then. "A background check is not going to spare her from a heartbreak, if that's what happens, Elaine."

"I know." Elaine sighed. "Well. It certainly didn't help you and Gail, did it?"

Holly shook her head. "You ran a background check on me? Really?"

"You were the first person Gail asked to bring over to a Peck Dinner by her own volition." Smiling, Elaine added, "I only found out she was dating Nick when Steven told me, and I invited him. I thought Gail was going to murder her brother."

"That does sound like her," said Holly, smiling. "Gail said she never looked at my background."

"Well. She wouldn't. You were hired by the city."

"And because you would?" Because Holly knew that Gail knew Elaine would.

Elaine looked stubborn. It was where Gail got it from. "I worry about my family in a different way. "I don't want people taking advantage of them. They aren't ... Their hearts are spun glass. Steve too. They don't have those tools for heartbreak."

Sipping her iced tea, Holly considered that truth. "It's funny. You taught them to expect everyone to lie to them and betray them. But not dump them."

"Dear, we have long since determined I was a terrible parent." Elaine shrugged.

The annoying thing was that Holly understood. "Elaine. Jamie is a firefighter. They have background checks. And if her family is a long line of insane serial killers, well. I live with your daughter."

Pursing her lips, Elaine fought a smile. "Valid point. Have you met her? Jamie I mean."

"No. Dinner tomorrow. We did yell at Vivian though."

"Dinner. That's hit and miss."

"Gail's idea. Invite her over, scare the hell out of her." Holly rolled her eyes. "I love her, but Gail takes so much looking after."

Now Elaine smiled. "She has always been a handful. You seem to have successfully tamed her."

Holly smiled too, blushing. "I try."

Conversation paused as the salads came out. They got refills of drinks and were silent a moment to eat. Elaine took a pause. "She's cute. Jamie is. Shorter than Vivian, but who isn't."

"Cute? Viv showed me a photo." In Holly's mind, Jamie wasn't 'cute' but then again, she'd never really felt that was a good way to describe attractive women.

"There you are. Jamie was pretty mad Vivian didn't call."

That was news. "Oh. After the ... Well. That was stupid. At least Gail always called."

"In Vivian's defense, I think Gail calling her every ten minutes and having everyone check on her was driving her to drink."

They both smiled. Elaine was amused and rueful, Holly was sad. "Gail was perilously close to a panic attack," Holly explained.

The smile fell off Elaine's face. "How bad?"

While Gail knew that Holly and Elaine talked about the problems Gail had, she had been adamant that she didn't want to know exactly what they said. Elaine had even come to a handful of therapy sessions over the years, working to get them past their mother/daughter issues. At this point, Gail was fine with Holly and Elaine comparing notes. It gave Holly family to talk to about the details, which she hadn't known she'd needed until it was there.

"She blanked out. Lights on, no one home. Not as bad as some." Holly shook her head and ate an olive. "This has been harder on her than she thought."

Elaine closed her eyes for a moment. "Well shit." Savagely, Elaine stabbed her salad. "I wish she'd ask me about it."

"You know why she won't, Elaine. And it's not your fault."

"It is, Holly. It's sweet of you to say it's not, but... I couldn't see how to prepare Vivian and Gail at once."

That too was something Holly knew. "She hasn't had it as bad as the other Pecks. Either you've all mellowed out or you taught her right. Or Gail... Maybe it was just time."

Thoughtfully nodding, Elaine asked a different question. "When did you stop eating tomatoes?"

Holly blinked. "Tomatoes..."

"Before or after you got serious about Gail?"

She didn't follow the line of questions, but Holly answered honestly. "Before. When she was ditching your setups."

Elaine nodded. "Just so."

Sometimes Pecks could be infuriating. Holly sighed and shook her head. "You're not coming to dinner, by the way."

"Heavens no." Elaine smiled. "Too much Peck in one meal. Besides, I've already met her. Just don't let Gail go crazy."

By the time Friday rolled around, Holly felt like she was failing that role. Gail had come up with four menus, thrown them all out, and then made a change of plans that very night on the way home. It had taken all her wiles to convince Gail to go to the batting cages the night before. For her own sanity, Holly had taken herself up to the office to finish up her latest article. Letting Gail de-stress herself in the kitchen was probably safe.

An hour later, Holly tilted her head, looking up from her laptop as the sound of the garage opening filtered in the house. Since she knew Gail was downstairs in the kitchen, that could only mean Vivian was there.

"Moms! I brought the wine."

It was just Vivian, no Jamie yet. Holly smiled and saved her paper, closing the laptop. She could clean up her article later. From the stairs, she saw Vivian and Gail shoving each other in the arm, teasingly, the way they always did. They were incredibly close, but neither liked hugging.

"Gail, stop acting like a child," she laughed, rolling her sleeves down.

"Never!" But Gail did stop her goofing around and quickly kissed Holly before heading back into the kitchen.

Vivian rolled her eyes and very briefly hugged Holly hello. "Hi, Mom."

Taking hold of her daughter by the shoulders, Holly studied her face. "You're okay?" They hadn't been able to see much of each other since the shooting. Yes, they'd had a dinner at home, and yes Holly and Gail had made a point to go over and feed their child as well as get a real emotional temperature. She'd looked tired then, a little sore and worn, but fine. Now she looked a little scared.

"I'm okay," nodded Vivian. "Nervous."

"Well. That's understandable." They both glanced at Gail in the kitchen, cooking away. "Why didn't you bring her?"

"She had some stuff to do this afternoon," shrugged Vivian.

Holly teased, "Not a motorcycle fan?"

Her daughter narrowed her eyes. "You are not getting my bike, Mom." They shared a smile and Holly straightened Vivian's shirt collar. "I'm really fine," sighed Vivian, sounding annoyed.

"And I'm really your mother, so hush and let me fuss over you, since you've been avoiding me."

"Not you," her daughter mumbled.

Ah. Holly exhaled slowly and nodded. "She's not mad. Or disappointed." Keeping her voice quiet, Holly went on, "Neither of us care about any of that bullshit, honey. We worry about you because that's what parents do. My mom grilled me about Gail, you know."

"Yeah, but you guys broke up once," smiled the young woman, wanly.

"Cheeky." But Holly smiled. "You like her?" And her daughter nodded, sheepishly. "Alright. I'll keep the Peck in check." She tweaked Vivian's nose. "Now. What's she really like?"

The girl smiled. "She's smart. She went to college for a couple years when she thought she wanted to do social work. She reads a lot, like all the time. Her eReader ran out of room." Holly laughed at that. "And she's funny, Mom. Like us. A little morbid and dark."

"I already like her because she took care of you," smiled Holly. "But she sounds nice." That was the most Vivian had talked about someone else in years. Jamie was not the first girl who had come over for a dinner with the parents. Of course Olivia had come over before and while she and Vivian had dated. And they'd met Pia a few times, but it had been fairly clear that the artist was not a serious thing. It felt different with Jamie. Vivian felt different about it, like it was a real, grown up relationship already.

They walked into the kitchen to help but Vivian paused. "She's here."

Holly watched her daughter scamper to the door and fuss for a moment. "I can't remember if I was that nervous," Gail mused, leaning on the counter.

"I was," admitted Holly. When Gail looked surprised, she added, "Why do you think I was washing dishes when you came over that after the ER thing? Nervous as hell and trying to figure out the whole kissing, not hugging, hugging, being shot at day. It was a lot to take in."

They shared a look. "God, you could not pay me to be there again." Her wife laughed and shook her head. Peeking around, Gail tried to get a look as Vivian opened the door.

"Stop it," hissed Holly, swatting her wife's arm. But Gail kept trying to peek, so Holly leaned in to kiss her. As a distraction, it still worked. "Be nice, Gail," she warned.

"Or what? You'll keep kissing me?"

"Or I'll stop." The look of actual shock and horror on Gail's face was worth it. Holly smiled and turned as she heard the front door close.

Vivian was holding Jamie's hand, leading her into the kitchen. Jamie was shorter than Vivian by a number of inches, though Viv had finally peaked over the six foot mark (far surpassing it in shoes) and everyone was shorter. But Jamie was petite, not even reaching Holly and Gail's height. "Remember when she was small for her age," asked Gail, clearly thinking the same thing.

"She hated the car seat," Holly replied.

"Don't mind that," said Vivian, louder than normal. "They go down these annoying memory lane detours and talk about how I was undersized when they adopted me."

"Oh, so they're normal parents," Jamie grinned. She was holding a bouquet of flowers ... No, she was holding a bunch of flowers in a pot.

"That will be the only time you say that," warned their daughter. "Moms, this is Jamie McGann. My girl— my girlfriend. Jamie, these are my Moms. Holly Stewart and Gail Peck." Vivian's face was turning a little pink.

Predictably, Gail pouted. "How come she got to be first?"

Holly smirked. "Stop being puckish, Peck." Gail rolled her eyes and Holly extended a hand. "Hello, Jamie. It's nice to finally meet you."

Jamie let go of Vivian's hand and reached over to shake Holly's. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs- Dr. Stewart. Vivian said you liked amorphophallus titanum."

Taking the flowers, Holly did a double take. These were local flowers, in a pot. Ones that would actually go well in her garden outside. Interesting. "I would have been astounded if these were those," she admitted.

"Her father's a florist, Holly," noted Gail. "But there are probably limits."

Both Jamie and Vivian startled. Jamie looked abruptly concerned while Vivian looked confused. Sighing, Holly asked, "Gail. Did you run a background check?"

"I did not." Gail sighed. "Sorry, Jamie, I do know who your father is, though."

Jamie frowned a little. "Is that a problem?"

Quickly Gail shook her head. "No, and honestly until I saw the flowers, I was hoping it was just a coincidence."

Her daughter looked nervous and annoyed. "Really, Mom?"

Holly cleared her throat. "Since everyone else seems to know what's going on...?"

Vivian held up a finger. "I don't."

At least Gail had the grace to look sorry. "Not my story to tell," Gail dodged.

Jamie sighed. "My Dad did time for assaulting his step-dad. It's complicated."

No wonder no one wanted to talk about. Holly sighed and looked at the flowers while Vivian seemed to be revising things in her head. "Well if it's complicated, you'll fit in just fine here, Jamie. Gail sic'd internal affairs on her mother once."

That broke the tension enough for conversation to move on. "You fit in just fine," agreed Gail with a smile. "You're just a dash of damaged like us."

"Just a dash, Mom?" Vivian grinned a little awkwardly. She was so on eggshells, it was adorable.

"Hush, you." Gail shoved Vivian's shoulder. "You were supposed to set the table."

The two teased each other and went to get the table ready, while Holly led Jamie into the kitchen. "Before you ask, yes, they're always like that. And yes, I do like the flowers. How did you know not to bring cut flowers?"

Jamie shrugged, nervously. "I know you're a pathologist. I figure you see enough death all the time."

"This is true," admitted Holly, and she put the pot down on the coffee table. "Vivian said you read a lot? Do you like science fiction?"

"Sometimes. It's got to be really good and believable sci fi, though."

"Oh, good god. I hate the ones that pull you out of plausibility!" The shyness faded a little and they started to talk about books they'd read and movies. Jamie did read a lot, and she read anything that had a good plot regardless of subject matter.

They were deep into arguing about the merits of young adult fiction when Vivian piped up. "Ask her about the Twilight books, Mom." Vivian looked impish.

Jamie scowled. "I cannot believe you like those movies."

It was Gail who defended them. "They're hilarious! Have you read the gender swap one? I laughed so hard, I cried."

Over dinner, Holly realized Vivian had undersold Jamie. She was smart and witty like they were, but also she sassed. Not like Gail did, which was often over the top, but in a way that was friendly. She stood up for herself and pushed at Vivian in good ways, nudging her out of her quiet shell.

Around Jamie, Vivian was the person Holly and Gail saw. That hadn't always been true around Matty or Olivia. Something had always been held a little back. Here, Vivian was herself. She was comfortable and friendly. And awkward. That would probably never go away. But Jamie seemed to find it endearing and just took hold of Vivian's hand as they chatted.

Without being a suck up, Jamie complimented Gail on the food and asked if she was just good at everything. Vivian quickly told tales of Gail at sports, which lead to Gail teasing Holly about singing, and then Holly absently harassed Vivian about the time she covered her walls with diagrams when she was struggling in electronics.

"Oh is that why you have seventeen versions of a spark plug doodled on your dresser?"

The two cops hesitated. Holly laughed. "Really? You're still working on that?"

Peevishly, Vivian pointed out the obvious. "You and Sue said I could blow it up on the range if I get it working. We finally figured out the trigger last month, but it doesn't behave like it should in lab tests."

Gail snorted. "This is what I put up with, Jamie. And I married into it."

"You picked me," Vivian said cheerfully.

"And you chased me," Holly said. She smiled at Gail and leaned over to kiss the blonde. "Don't mind her, Jamie. None of us do."

The dinner went well, though. There was joking and teasing and Vivian kept stealing glances at Jamie throughout. When, finally, Jamie said she should go home, Vivian walked her to the car. Or course, Gail peeked at them from the window until Holly threw a dish towel at her.

"Stop spying on the kid," admonished Holly, smiling.

"They were kissing."

"They're supposed to." Holly started loading the dishwasher. She was a little curious as to what circumstances, exactly, led to her wife knowing about their daughter's girlfriend's family's predicaments. But that would wait. Today was for family. And Vivian would want to know how her parents liked Jamie.


Two days after the dinner with Jamie and Vivian, Holly asked the question Gail suspected was on her mind the whole time. Gail had been holed up in the office, finishing a report, when her wife came in with a drink.

"So, honey. How, exactly, did you know who Jamie's dad was?" Holly put the glass down for Gail and opened her side of the office closet to dug for something.

Gail looked over and gnawed her lip. No point in hiding it though she stalled and sipped the water. "My Dad was on the case. Philpott v McGann. We talked about it at one of the family dinners, since Dad thought Jason should've gotten off."

Sadly, Gail remembered the story. She had no choice, being a Peck and living at her parents' house back in the day. Even worse, Gail remembered the whole story, including the part where Vivian had actually seen Jamie's father. Because the last time Gail had spoken to her own father had been when he was escorting the handcuffed McGann in. She wondered if Vivian remembered that at all.

But of course it was also why Elaine had known the name McGann as well and had warned Holly, vaguely, at their lunch.

"Do I need to be worried about Viv?"

She looked up at her wife and felt her heart swell. Once, Holly had said that watching their daughter navigate the world was like having her heart race around on it's own and being able to do nothing to protect it. In this moment, having Holly's first thought be for their daughter, made her love Holly even more.

And she was never more thankful to be able to answer as she did. "Nah." Gail closed her laptop and stretched her arms up. "His step-father was beating his mother and he tried to protect her."

Holly frowned. "The mother sided with the abuser?" When Gail nodded, she scowled and held a hand out to Gail.

Taking the hand, Gail stood up. "I think there was a second time, too, when the step-dad tried to push his way into the house to see the baby. Whom I presume is Jamie."

"Why would he do time for that, though? Even if the witness sided with the victim, the second time the mother had to ..." Holly paused, closing the office door behind them. "Jason McGann. The boxer?"

Gail was surprised and glanced back as she opened the bedroom door. "Yeah. Pro boxer beat the fuck out of the same man twice. Small problem. The second time they got him out after I think six months, but still. A total mess." How had Holly known who he was? Was that related to her previously unknown talent in boxing?

"I can see why." Holly shook her head. "Well. That's that and this is this, honey."

"Oh, I know." Gail yawned. "I like her." Gail flopped onto the bed and closed her eyes. "I like her and Viv."

"I like them together." There was a sound Gail identified as Holly shaking her hair out of its ponytail. "Shower. Bed."

"Can't I just lie here and be dirty?"

"No. And you are not a six year old hoyden." Holly smiled and leaned over to kiss Gail's forehead. "I like her too. Vivian is totally smitten."

As Holly walked into the bathroom, Gail called out. "I'm totally smitten with you, Holly!"

"I'll be smitten with you if you shower." The sound of the water turning on spurred Gail into getting up and following her wife into the bathroom. She sat on the stool and watched Holly for a moment. "Why are you being a creeper, honey?"

"If you'd known everything about the Pecks before we started dating, would we still be here?"

Without a second of hesitation, Holly replied. "Of course. We were inevitable."

Gail blinked. "What?"

"The moment I looked at you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman, the most honest, interesting person I'd ever met. Attitude and glamour, and there you were... A cop. No. Sorry, honey, as soon as our paths crossed, I could have tried to avoid you but I think we would have always ended up here."

She stared at Holly. "That... That is the most romantic thing I've ever heard you say."

Holly looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I've been practicing." She rinsed off and gestured. "Coming right in?"

"Oh. I suppose." Gail shimmied out of her clothes and hopped in while Holly toweled off.

"Do you suppose Viv knows now?"

"About the McGann's? Probably. If not already then soon." Turning up the hot water, Gail scrubbed her hair. "Without violating your secret keeper vows, can you tell me if Viv managed to tell Jamie about her sleeping issues?"

"I gather she did." The brunette was already in her robe, her hair wrapped up in a monument of towel. "You know, not a day goes by that I don't worry about her."

"Ditto." Gail rinsed out her hair and stepped out of the shower, her wife holding up a towel. "Thanks, baby." The kissed softly.

"Does it really not bother you, Jamie being a firefighter?"

"Not in the slightest." Gail smiled and rough dried her hair. "I really don't care who she dates, as long as whomever it is treats her well. Firefighter, doctor, lawyer, street sweeper, ballet dancer. Cop."

Holly looked wistful. "I wouldn't have fallen in love with a cop if I'd a choice in the matter. I can't fathom being in love with a firefighter."

"Bit early for love declarations."

Her wife made an agreeing noise. "Falling for, then."

"It's worse when you're not one." Gail hung up her towel. "A cop I mean. I expect my family and friends to get hurt or in danger. You..." She shook her head.

Her wife shook her head. "I'm not the one who went catatonic when Andy called." Holly pulled her sleep wear out. "You practically went vasovagal on me. You got so pale... er."

"How could you tell?" Gail slipped into her nightgown.

"You actually have some skin color," said Holly, teasing. "Hold up your forearm to your stomach. Or thighs."

Gail frowned and did so. There was a difference in hue. "You're practically the same color all over."

"I still wear a bikini in summer."

Still. She still was fit and felt beautiful in a bikini. She was still all legs and a shapely ass and curves that Gail could be lost in for days. She was still everything that had sucked Gail's breath away and stolen her heart.

"You, Holly Stewart, are my everything," said Gail.

Her wife blushed and sat down on the bed beside Gail. Silently, Holly took Gail's hand and grinned that wonderful, quirky, smile to the side. That warm look in Holly's eyes spoke nothing of their physical attraction.

It was just love.


Way back in OWtO, chapter 98, Gail and Vivian bumped into a parolee named McGann. Congratulations everyone who caught that one. Did I plan this out from that moment? Yes. The reveal of Jamie's past was scripted before chapter 1 of this fic was written. Originally, Jamie explained a lot more, but in the interest of drama, it'll be drawn out. Yes, Vivian will get the story.

Also Gail is mis-remembering her events as to when Nerd Bait happened. In her defense, Andy got into a lot of shit, and she confused 'the time Andy was shot' with 'the time Andy was choked by a crazy army guy.'