02.11 - Girlfriend of the Year
There's no place like home for the holidays. Jamie comes over to the Peck/Stewart house for Christmas Eve. Weather ensues.
This is just family stuff. It's a long webisode, basically, that takes place between the seasons. It's as close to fluff as I can manage.
"I'm not at all surprised they're singing," admitted Jamie as she helped Holly clear the dishes. "But the karaoke ..."
Holly laughed and loaded the last dish in. "It was a present. Gail used to have to be drunk to sing in public." She smiled over at where her wife and daughter were singing Christmas duets cheerfully, much to the amusement of Elaine.
"Not sure this counts as public."
Earlier, Traci and Steve and Leo had been over. They'd left before dinner to have a quieter family event with Traci's mother. Dov and Chloe and Chris had come by to drop off a present and thank Gail for something. Andy and Nick had called. And Oliver and Celery had come by just before Jamie and Vivian arrived, leaving a mystery box for 'Vivian+1' that the girl had not seen fit to explain.
It sure felt public. Even though now it was only Gail and Holly, Jamie and Vivian, and Elaine.
"Well." Holly turned on the machine. She knew, thanks to Vivian's worried explanation, that Jamie didn't have much of a Christmas tradition to rely on, and that the firefighter had been rather wistful about the idea of a 'real family' holiday. "My family gets drunk and sings on holidays. Gail's ... I think they open presents and go to the firing range."
Jamie looked stricken. "Again?"
"Unlikely. Gail and Vivian may go, but just for practice."
"Every week," said Jamie, a little grumpily.
"Yes." Holly tilted her head. "She will probably go every week for the rest of her life, Jamie."
The younger woman shook her head. "I know, I know. And ... I get it. It's not my normal."
Holly sighed. "Well hell, that describes the Pecks in a nutshell. Whiskey, beer, or something clear?"
"Water. Please." Jamie shook her head. "Is this normal for them?"
That was an interesting question. "Maybe? We usually just do a quiet Christmas, unless we're visiting my family." Holly got two glasses of water. "Elaine usually doesn't come over on Christmas Eve."
Jamie nodded. "And I gather I'm the first person Vivian invited?"
"Unless we count Matty." Holly grinned. Matty used to spend holidays with them in order to avoid family drama. This was presented to them by Vivian simply showing up with the boy in tow when he was thirteen, announcing his parents were nuts.
"He's kind of awesome," admitted Jamie. "I thought he was coming."
"He was. And then he was whisked away to meet his boyfriend's parents, which I'll admit is more important." Holly rolled her eyes. "Vivian would be mad, but I think she's planning something New Yearsy with him."
"Ah. I'm on shift." Jamie shrugged.
"Oh, I am so glad I'm not your age." The doorbell rang as Jamie stuck her tongue out. "Keep that in your mouth, child," teased Holly, and she went to the door. "Gordo!" Elaine's gentleman caller (as Gail called him) was covered in snow and looking rather tired.
Elaine perked up from the living room. "You made it?"
"A near thing. It's coming down." The man stopped in the vestibule and shook off his coat.
Holly frowned looking past him. The snow was buckets. "Shit. Gail, honey, check the weather."
It was Vivian who had her watch up first. "Wow. They shut the Quay. Expecting over a foot in the city tonight..." She looked up. "Gordo, man, you're lucky you made it."
"Took me three hours. I'd have gone home, but I was closer to here." He shivered and Holly quickly went to make him some tea. "If you don't mind, I'd appreciate your couch tonight."
Gail snorted. "Please. You and Mom take the guest. The kids can have Vivian's room."
Jamie startled. "We're staying?"
The weather map popped up on the TV and everyone stared. "Yeah, I think we are." Vivian sighed. "I'm gonna call the station."
As Vivian went to the little sun room, Holly did not miss Jamie's sigh. "Jamie, can you help me for a second?"
There was a set to Jamie's shoulders as she followed Holly up to the second floor. She was definitely unhappy. "What's up?"
"The beds need sheets. Gordo needs to warm up and Elaine's going to fuss over him. And our idiots are checking at work."
Again, the shoulders told the story. Jamie wasn't happy. "I don't want to impose."
Holly laughed, opening the linen closet. "Hardly. You can't control the weather." She got out sheets for the guest room and gestured for Jamie to follow. "So. What's got your mood?"
Jamie startled. "What?"
"I've successfully raised that hoyden you call a girlfriend. I remember her, and Sophie for that matter, as teens. You're broody. The second she went to the phone. So, as a cop's partner for pretty much your whole life, spill."
The firefighter hesitated. "Her first thought was work."
Holly nodded. "So was Gail's." She spread out the fitted sheet and was pleased to see Jamie reflexively took hold to help. "This is the hard thing, Jamie. Falling for a cop." She exhaled. "A lot of cops have problems with relationships because they see pretty terrible things and it screws them up. Or they hurt all the time. They have to go out there, do this. And those two Pecks, they care so much that people don't hurt like they did, that they go back out there every day."
Jamie frowned. "Gail?"
For now, Holly ignored that. "The first time I kissed her, really kissed her, Gail had been shot at and was going back out because she's a cop. It's who she is and what she is. You're kind of the same way. You run into a fire because you know how to handle it, how to take care of yourself in it. And how to survive. So do they."
The firefighter turned a little red. "I wouldn't ever hurt Vivian, Doc- Holly."
"I know. This isn't the 'don't hurt my daughter' talk, Jamie." Holly smoothed the sheet.
"Oh... I've been kind of expecting that one."
Holly smiled. "Do people actually give that talk these days?" She'd never really had one, just casual warnings from Gail's friends and Steve that they knew Gail to be more fragile than she acted. Which was something Holly had already known.
"I don't know... I've never gotten to this point."
Neither had Holly before Gail. She shook her head. If the talk was to be had, Gail would want to do it. For her part, the best way Holly could think of to tell Jamie not to hurt her daughter was to lower the wall. To help Jamie deal with a police officer as a girlfriend. Which was something only Holly was equipped to do.
"Jamie. Dating a cop is hard. They will always put random strangers first. And it will always hurt. Especially when they get shot at. But if you're going to stick by them, you have to accept this is who they are." Holly sighed. "I love Gail. And I love Vivian. Watching them put their uniforms on is the most terrifying thing ever. But I couldn't— I wouldn't change it, not even if I could. This is why I love them."
Jamie silently put the pillows in their covers, digesting all that. Finally, as they spread the quilt, she nodded. "I get it."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I think so."
"You can always talk to me about it," added Holly.
"Thanks." They headed back down the hall and Jamie paused. "Aren't we going to make Vivian's bed?"
"No. I think she'd rather show you her room than me." Holly grinned as her eyes landed on a photo of Gail and Vivian in uniform together. A rare shot from some event or another where Gail was in her non-dress uniform and Vivian still had her tie on. "You know what though? Those uniforms are terrifying, but they are so sexy."
Jamie followed Holly's gaze and blushed. "God, they really are!"
Singing gave way to more drinking and to finishing the tree. Gail laughed as Vivian lorded her height and long arms over Holly and put the star, a purchase Holly had made their first Christmas as a couple, on the tree. Really, Gail wasn't a tree and present person. She had often worked the holidays in order to avoid her mother.
Right now, Elaine was sitting next to her boyfriend and her granddaughter's girlfriend, telling them about the time she worked Christmas and had to rescue someone from a polar bear club, after he'd been arrested for public indecency.
"And, handcuffed and bare assed naked, he ran back to the water and jumped in."
Gordo laughed. "What on earth did you do?"
"She jumped in after him," said Gail, handing over refills of the hot rum toddy. "That's how you got your... Your second bad luck charm?"
"Third. The second was from the dog bite."
"Right!" Gail shook her head.
Jamie looked confused. "Bad luck charms?"
Vivian huffed. "Stupid things for our dress uniforms when we get in trouble." She took the jug from Gail and poured her own glass. "They make us stand up on stage too."
"Oh." Thoughtfully, Jamie asked, "Do you have any?"
"One. For last year when I carried Rich out of the building."
Elaine pursed her lips. "Which one is Rich?"
"Abercrombie." Holly wrapped her arms around Gail's shoulders and kissed her neck. "Also two-times, since he puked twice in my autopsy."
Gail smiled and leaned back into her wife's arms. "He didn't really get much smarter after being shot, did he?"
"He's not stupid," said Vivian. She put the mug down and sat on the arm of the couch, beside Elaine. "What's your dumbest holiday criminal, Mom?"
"Oh, hands down, Full Moon Monty." Gail rolled her eyes. "Climbed the tree in downtown on Christmas Eve and dropped trou." She canted her head back to Holly. "Et vous, ma petite chou?"
Holly laughed. "I autopsied an elf. Murdered by Mrs. Santa for sleeping with that jolly old fat man."
Not to be left out, Jamie chimed in. "Last year I pulled a drunk Santa out of a chimney."
"Shit, all I have is the car that went into the lake." Vivian fiddled with her watch and sent the photo to the TV for everyone to see.
The tire tracks told only part of the story. Two drunk college kids tried to find a parking spot the first night of Christmas break. They ended up driving down a sidewalk and marking in the middle of a pond. The next morning, when the sun came up, the ice softened and the car sunk in. Two days, and one hard freeze, later, the cops were called in to find a missing car. Voila. Vivian had texted Gail the photo while they'd been at the Stewart place and Vivian had been home alone.
Elaine sighed. "Does it bother anyone else that she can control all the media in this house from her wrist?"
"It used to." Gail swayed a little, reveling in Holly's warmth. "I liked that one." Making a noise of agreement, Holly swayed with Gail. "Kid, put on some music." A moment later, the sound system was filling the room with soft jazz. Turning, Gail rested her hands on Holly's waist, pulling her close.
Taking a moment to ignore the family in the house, Gail lost herself in the little world with Holly. Life wasn't easy. The morning before, Holly had simply been headachey and complaining about everything. She didn't want to deal with the holidays or even family. Everything was terrible. There wasn't much to be done about it, save for Gail to tell Holly she loved her and help gently nudge them into directions positive.
And now, here, it was back to what everyone else in the room probably thought of as Normal Holly. Well, except Vivian who knew better. As they swayed (it wasn't dancing), Holly's eyes drifted closed and her lips turned up into that smirky little quirk of a smile. Not the one where she almost laughed but the one where she was awkward and goofy and just content with life and what it was.
"Merry Christmas," said Holly softly, her voice a whisper curling around Gail's ear.
"It's still Christmas Eve, nerd."
"Mmmmm. I don't have to give you a present."
"You are my present."
Holly sighed. "Elaine. How come she's so good at saying things that make my heart stop?"
"No idea," said Elaine from the couch. Then. "Vivian, sweetheart, you and Jamie can dance too."
It was Jamie who snorted a laugh. "Two left feet Peck? No thank you. She's a danger on the dance floor."
Gail chuckled. "Try letting Jamie lead," she suggested. But glancing over, Gail saw the expression of actual fear of embarrassment on Vivian's face. "It's uncool to dance with your moms in the room, huh?"
"Entirely." Vivian sighed and shifted, clearly unsure what to do with her body. It was adorably awkward. The child could scale jungle gyms like a boss, but ask her to dance? Uncoordinated.
"How about we do presents?" Holly stopped moving and just held Gail.
"Uh, presents early?" Jamie sounded confused.
Vivian nodded. "We do one, small, gift the night before."
"You got a phone one year, I hardly think that's small." Gail let go of Holly and went to the tree. "Who wants whom?"
Speaking up, Gordo surprised them. "I have something for you, Gail."
"I should like to surprise my granddaughter," Elaine said, thoughtfully.
The core trio shared a look. "Gordo," decided Vivian.
"I got Elaine," said Holly.
"Leaving me the hose monkey. Perfect."
In the minor scramble for gifts, Jamie hesitantly got up. "I... Um. So I get Holly?"
Gail nodded. "If you want. If not, I can take care of it. Don't worry. I was pretty sure the idiot there did not actually explain anything."
Jamie shook her head. "I mean, I got her a present, but it's just..." She reached into the pile and picked up a slim item wrapped in unfamiliar paper. "It's not a phone."
"I got her an ebook one year. It's really not about the money."
"I just don't know if she'll like it... I've never really done Christmas."
Gail studied the young woman's face for a moment. What a curious revelation. Vivian had implied as much but now, looking at Jamie, Gail had a better idea what was meant. "You thought about her. Holly I mean."
Jamie blinked. "Was I not supposed to?"
And Gail laughed softly. "You, child, fit in just fine." Gail reached over and squeezed Jamie's shoulder. "Go give Holly her gift." As Jamie nodded, blushing, Gail changed her mind about the gift. She'd planned on giving Jamie a gag gift, a coffee cup that marked how much coffee had to be ingested before one talked to her (which according to Vivian was two cups). Instead, Gail rooted for the book that had just come out the week before. It was, again per Vivian, something Jamie was excited for and couldn't wait to read, but the ebook wouldn't be out until the paperback was. The hardcover Gail had picked up was also signed, though not to Jamie specifically.
On the couch, Holly was handing Elaine her present (tickets to a comedian Elaine loved), while Vivian crowed over the video game from Elaine. Gordo seemed amused at his new, stupid, winter hat, and put it on right away. Sometimes silly, sometimes not. Gail handed her present to Jamie and sat in Holly's lap to see what the gift from Jamie was.
It was small. A picture frame of a flower pressed in glass. It was purple, which was about as much as Gail knew, or really cared, about flowers.
"Oh that is lovely," said Holly. "Dracunculus vulgari." Gail had no trouble placing the tone from her wife. The doctor was thrilled and trying not to geek out.
Jamie bobbed her head, nervous. "Voodoo lily. Viv... Vivian said your mom's name is Lily, and it's one of the ones that smell terrible, so I thought, y'know, since the other one is kinda cost prohibitive, and this one is prettier, maybe you'd like it? I know you like live plants but—"
It was Vivian who cut off the babble. She leaned over and gently kissed her girlfriend silent. "Mom likes it," said Vivian softly.
"I do," said Holly, wiping her face. "This is beautiful." And Holly hesitated before squeezing Jamie's shoulder. "Thank you."
Jamie's eyes scrunched up and she looked from Holly to Vivian. "You're welcome."
"Before this moment gets too sappy, open your gift." Gail dropped the wrapped book in Jamie's lap. "Junior, come on, we should actually eat something besides cookies."
Rolling her eyes, Vivian hopped up and went to the fridge. "That's code for 'Vivian, put the food in the oven.' Did you even wrap the beef?"
Before Gail could comment, Holly poked her ribs. "Go cook, idiot."
Gail grinned, stealing a kiss, and following Vivian into the kitchen. "Everyone better like my goddamned Beef Wellington," she declared, loudly.
It was clearly weird for Jamie, being in Vivian's childhood bedroom. But there was no helping it. As the weather apps had predicted, the snow fell and fell. But as no one had guessed, it picked up and the roads were shut down with a foot already. A Christmas blizzard. So Jamie had no place to sleep save the house where her girlfriend had grown up, and no room except Vivian's unless she wanted to crash on the couch, which Vivian nixed.
At least Vivian had her own bathroom, she'd pointed out, which won the argument. No chivalry needed. Jamie would sleep in Vivian's room.
"You really have dinosaurs on the walls here."
Vivian smiled. "I do."
"Is that a ... Is that a princess Tyrannosaurus rex?"
"Uh huh, and a superhero stegosaurus." Vivian smiled and went back to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth. When she came back out, dressed in an ancient sports shirt and old sweat shorts, Jamie was still perched on the window seat.
"I guess the art makes sense. It looks like something Holly would do."
"Nah, Gail did it when Holly was sick." Vivian yawned and sat on her bed.
"Sick? Oh the Ebola thing?"
"Yeah. It was Gail's surprise for Holly, and me I guess. We painted the whole place before she got home." The story given, Vivian pulled back the covers. "You gonna sit there all night?"
Jamie sighed. "I've never slept over like this... Not in a parent's house."
Smiling, Vivian slid between the sheets. They weren't her favorite sheets, nor blanket, but seeing as she had the quilt at her place, it was what it was. "Holly used to have a no-sleepovers rule. And a no sex at home rule."
"That does not sound like Holly," said Jamie, and she squeezed in beside Vivian. "Obviously that changed."
"Mom pointed out how much more dangerous it was for young lesbians to experiment outside the home."
Jamie snorted a laugh. "Wow."
Vivian yawned and stretched. "Times change." There was a moment of jostling, shifting around to be comfortable in the smaller bed (her apartment had a king, because Gail was forever hopeful), and then Vivian reached over to turn off the light. Darkness fell. The storm outside made it even darker than normal. The wind whipped around the house.
"You sure your moms don't mind?"
"Jamie, they know no one is sleeping on the floor," grumbled Vivian, curling up comfortably and kicking one foot out.
"I know, but... If you were at my place, my parents, you'd be on the couch."
Odd. "Well. I haven't actually met your mythical parents yet, so I'm not sure they exist." Beside her, Jamie laughed a little. "I'm sure no one minds."
There was a knock at the door. "All good in there?" Holly's voice, slightly quieter than Gail's tended to be, came through the closed door.
"All good, Mom."
"Got enough blankets and pillows?"
"Yes, and I grabbed the toothbrush and towel already. Night, Mom."
"Love you, Viv."
"Love you too, Mom."
The sound of footsteps faded away. "That's cute," said Jamie.
Vivian snorted. "I'm not ashamed to love my moms. Hang on, though." There was another knock. "Mom, go to sleep. We're fine."
Gail's bright laugh filtered into the room. "So Holly said. Night, Monkey."
"Seriously, Mom? I'm almost 26!"
The older police officer laughed again. "Night, Jamie. If she snores, make her roll over."
Jamie hesitated. "She doesn't snore if she sleeps on her left side."
With a grumble, Vivian got out of bed and opened the door to glare at Gail. "Go away, Mom." She then closed the door in Gail's face before slipping back under the covers with a loud huff.
Sadly both Jamie and Gail had the giggles. The mother wished them a good night and laughed her way away. "Is it always like this?"
"Never had a girlfriend spend the night with them around before," mused Vivian, and she kissed Jamie's shoulder. "But yes, they always check on me like that."
"I hid in a closet once," admitted Jamie. "She was a cheerleader and didn't want her parents to know."
Vivian laughed quietly. "Did you have to climb out the window?"
"Without a shirt, too. It was not my best moment. We got busted in the back of her car later on. I'd just gotten to second base, too!"
The mirthful laughter bubbled up. "Oh, honey," chortled Vivian. "The back of a car?"
"Shut up," laughed Jamie, clearly embarrassed. She probably hadn't thought about that in years. "I think first times are always weird."
Vivian made a quiet noise. "Awkward." She tentatively reached over and rubbed Jamie's hip. Her girlfriend made a soft noise, which Vivian took as encouragement, and she scooted closer, spreading her fingers out on Jamie's stomach. All she could hear outside was the wind. Most likely she couldn't hear the master bedroom tonight. And Vivian's original plan for that night was decidedly non family friendly. Experimentally, she ran her hand down to the end of Jamie's shirt and attempted to slip under it. Her girlfriend caught her hand and sighed. So did Vivian. "You just cannot relax, can you?"
"No," said Jamie, guilty admitting the fact. "Your moms are right there!" She gestured with one arm.
Vivian peered. "No, that's Elaine. Moms are there." And Vivian took Jamie's hand and pointed towards the master bedroom.
"Viv... " Very gently, Vivian nuzzled the back of Jamie's neck and got an exasperated sigh. "Vivian," she whinged. "I don't want to be the first girl you ... Y'know in your room."
That paused Vivian. "You'd be the third. Just because no one slept overnight doesn't mean I didn't have sex here, hose head." Technically Pia had spent the night, but there had been no sleeping. Did it count as 'spending the night' if someone came over at 3AM, anyway?
"Somehow that isn't making this more appealing." Jamie grumbled. "Wait a second. You had sex at home?"
"As opposed to trying to get to second base in the back of a car?" Vivian laughed again and let go, lying on her back. "Pia, this artist I dated in college, came over a couple times. When Moms were at a conference or out."
That Vivian left out the other person meant it was Olivia. And Jamie clearly picked up on that, based on her next question. "Hang on. Your first time was in your bedroom?" Jamie craned her neck. "Here?"
"Here," confirmed Vivian, letting go and propping herself up on an elbow. "Is that a problem?" She was honestly confused.
Jamie sighed. "I don't know," she admitted at length.
Vivian sighed as well. "I'm bad at figuring out these rules. What's okay and what's not."
The truth of life was Vivian was appallingly bad at reading those cues pretty quickly. It was a strange trait in a cop. But then again, as a cop, Vivian felt like she had a lock on how to handle people in a crisis. Vivian as a person floundered. She wanted a girl to hold her hand and tell her she was cute and kiss her. But she didn't want the snuggles and the cuddles. And she still had no idea how she was supposed to explain that.
"It's just weird. I don't like thinking about you having sex with other people in the same bed I'm sleeping in."
"I changed the sheets," Vivian said dryly. "And it's a different mattress."
"Your parents are in the next room!"
"My grandmother is in the next room. Moms are across the hall, and this is payback."
"That... Is not a good argument, Viv."
Which meant no sex. "They can't hear us, Jamie. The wind is a good buffer." Vivian settled back down, making no more attempt. There was clearly no point. "Okay. Better idea. Look up at the ceiling."
"Ooookay," said Jamie, drawing the word out. She rolled over and then froze. "Wow. That... Wow."
The ceiling was a work of art. Painted in multiple colors, the glow-in-the-dark view of the stars at night were amazing. "Brian did it," whispered Vivian. "Holly's dad. It's the view from the cottage on my birthday, the year the comet went by." Her eyes drifted to the corner where Brian had smeared the little smudge of the comet. As a young girl, Vivian had been disappointed that it was so small and far away. Even Holly showing her the better view via the telescope hadn't helped.
Jamie sounded like she was drowning the vertigo of cognitive dissonance. "Sorry, what?"
"Mmmhmm." Vivian pointed. "The fuzzy bit in the edge, the big one, is Milky Way. No light pollution so you can see it without Mom's telescope. Holly's. Gail got it for her for Christmas... Um. I was eleven? Maybe. Before I was fourteen."
"No, the cottage. What cottage."
Vivian yawned. "Oh. Where the photo of Holly on the rope swing is from. Peck Cottage. Up north a few hours. Lake. Really pretty."
"Oh. Of course. You have a cottage."
It was clearly just dawning on Jamie that Vivian came from moderate money. Upper middle class. There was a bigger difference between them than normal for a cop and a firefighter. Vivian lived in a pretty sweet condo that her mothers owned. She grew up in a house they'd paid off, with three bedrooms and an office. A three car garage. They all had vehicles.
Jamie, apparently, didn't even do Christmas.
"It's about a hundred and fifty years old," she explained, taking Jamie's hand and rubbing it softly. "The first Peck in Toronto built it, and ever generation after added on to it. When Gail's parents divorced, they gave it to her, since Elaine had put some of her money into it, and it was... Well... Confusing."
Tonight didn't need to be a story about how the cottage really was also a horrible place sometimes. That teenaged Pecks were dropped in the wilderness and forced to march home. Instead, Vivian talked quietly about how Gail taught her to swim and use a canoe, but it was Holly who showed her how to fish and name the constellations. She told Jamie about the time Holly accidentally shot off a homemade firework and burnt off her ponytail, and the day the rope swing broke while Steve was at its apex, and the hilarity of when Gail and Holly flipped the canoe while 'napping' and almost lost Holly's glasses (she made sure to use air quotes, and Jamie giggled).
Of course she told Jamie about the summer when Vivian saw a baby moose and sat in a tree for hours, waiting until it's parents found it. Holly had been frantic with fear, but Gail had just nodded and told her she did the best she could, and made homemade ice cream. Finally she ran out of safe, simple, stories.
After some silence, Jamie turned to her side and ran her fingers down Vivian's jawline. "You know how lucky you are."
It wasn't a question. Jamie was stating the fact as she recognized it. Vivian sighed. "I am. I mean, I do."
To her surprise, Jamie leaned in and kissed Vivian, softly, slowly. Very suggestively. Vivian hesitated and then put a hand on Jamie's hip, drawing her closer. It was fairly tame, even for their casual couch making-out past, but there was something behind the kiss that threatened to heat up and overtake them.
As Jamie started to let more of her weight rest on Vivian, she paused. "The bathrooms are between us and your grandma, right?"
"Yeah," confirmed Vivian, confused but not about to pass up the moment. Jamie nodded and moved over, straddling one of Vivian's thighs and gently pressing into her. Things inched forward, the way they tended to, rocking against each other slowly, building up the desire quickly.
While part of Vivian wanted to know what spurred on the change, the greater part of her was getting lost in the soft moans from her girlfriend. "And your moms..."
"Just don't shout," suggested Vivian. Not that she actually cared. Gail might be inclined to comment, but it was probably not worth encouraging or mentioning.
Jamie laughed and bit Vivian's neck. "Noted."
There was no answer when she rapped on the door. Holly hesitated and then turned the knob. Locked. She knocked again. "Viv, honey. Breakfast."
A muffled voice replied. "I'm playing in my room. Go 'way."
A second voice giggled.
Holly smirked. History repeated itself. "Well when playtime's over, Gail's making waffles for bribery. Some nice, strong, young ladies could perhaps shovel the driveway?"
The second voice sounded surprised. "Your moms don't have a snow blower?"
"Goddamnit, waffles." Vivian was louder and annoyed.
When Holly got downstairs, Gail was whisking her batter. "Where are the kids?"
"Probably taking a shower and putting clothes on. You were right."
"Huh. Rock on, little Peck," said Gail, proudly.
They too had enjoyed sex that night. It was practically a Christmas tradition. But it was more the fact that Gail knew how to make her a little crazy. God, that woman knew how to keep romance burning. Out of consideration for the house guests, Holly had somehow managed to keep the volume at a low, respectable level that night. Apparently so had their daughter. Holly rolled her eyes at her wife and slapped her butt. "You leave them alone about it."
Petulant as ever, Gail looked incredibly put upon. "You don't love me anymore."
"I don't know if I ever loved you," teased Holly, but Gail's faux-hurt expression wore her down in a second. "Gail." She leaned in and kissed her wife. The bowl went down and Gail pulled Holly close and tight. "I am a weak, weak, woman," muttered Holly, giving in to Gail's gravity and kissing her again.
There was a noise at the top of the stairs. "Uh, Viv. Is that normal?"
"Making out all the time? Yeah." Vivian's familiar thudding footsteps came down the stairs. "How bad is the snow?"
"Two and a half feet. Whole city is shut down." Gail did not let go of Holly as she replied. Not that Holly was complaining. "You won't be called in until tomorrow, if at all."
"And I'm working day after tomorrow anyway," complained Vivian, but she availed herself to coffee, ignoring her mothers antics. "Jamie, I'm gonna shovel out the garage and see how screwed we are."
"Do you want help?"
Vivian held up a coffee in a travel mug. "Sure, but you're a guest."
Taking the cup, Jamie sipped it. "Nah, I kinda gotta get it out of my system."
"Oh yeah," laughed Vivian, filling a second travel mug and leading Jamie outside.
Once the garage door closed, Holly burst out giggling. "They are so cute," she told her wife.
Gail rumbled a laugh. "They are. This is the weirdest Christmas."
As she let go of Gail to get more coffee, Holly asked, "Weirder than Dad catching us getting it on in the kitchen?"
"That was your idea," said Gail primly. "And it was New Years. All Christmases with your family are weird to me."
"Even now?" Holly frowned thinking about that. Was Gail still uncomfortable in enjoying 'normal' family things? Did she still feel apart from the Stewarts, who adored her?
Gail, busy with the fridge, missed the frown. "Holly, your father sings like a goat. Your mother can't dance. And your sledding and hiking and New Years Dawn shit makes me old." With a loud sigh, Gail looked back at Holly. She was smiling. "And I love it."
Just like that, Holly melted. It was an adorable moment, a sweet and honest and simple one. "Gail, don't take this the wrong way. But if I wasn't married to you, I'd marry you."
Grinning at her, the blonde put bacon and sausages on the counter. Holly grinned back and sorted out some fruit.
They were still grinning like idiots when Vivian and Jamie stomped back in. Vivian stomped. Jamie was bemused. "It's queerbaiting, plain and simple! It's been like this since that law show in the 1980s. Mom! Tell her!"
Holly arched her eyebrows. "What am I telling?"
"How they always kill the lesbians!" Vivian pulled off her sweater.
"Oh. Well that's true. LA Law just did the first lesbian kissing for sweeps shit. The dead lesbian trope is from the '70s if you think about it..." Looking between the girls, Holly asked, "Which show are we mad about?"
And Vivian launched into a diatribe about a doctor series Jamie had been watching (and by extension, an unwilling Vivian), and how the lesbian trauma surgeon had to have her girlfriend die, because lesbians still weren't allowed to be happy. Jamie's argument was practical, that the actress had picked up a lead roll on a period drama about the early 1900s, and wouldn't be available. Countering that, Vivian pointed out that the heterosexual plastic surgeon had a wife rarely seen on camera, and some equality would be nice.
Holly did not bother to interrupt them. When one or the other asked for historical verification, Holly provided it. But for the most part, she listened to the fairly heated argument. It was rare to see Vivian that passionate about anything. The maltreatment of fictional queers in the media, however, was always going to get her riled up. Thinking back, Holly recalled the first such outburst had happened when Vivian was only ten, watching some silly show about some mythical werewolf world, when the main werewolf character lesbian had to watch her witch girlfriend of two episodes be mauled. The girl had shouted 'Why can't Emily be happy?'
Fifteen years later, Vivian demanded to know why Liz couldn't be happy?
"Probably for the same reasons people still write crime shows about rape," said Elaine.
Everyone stopped and looked at the stairs, where the Peck matron was dressed in one of Gail's fuzzy robes.
Gail smiled. "Hey, Mom. Coffee?"
"Thank you. Gordo's coming. He was calling to see about the streets being plowed." Elaine breezed in and sat at the kitchen island. "Vivian, dear, people like tragedy. And killing off lesbians, like rape, is a cheap trope. Nothing more. The sign of an unimaginative writer, if you ask me. It certainly can be done well and with respect, but is so rarely is."
Vivian grumbled. "I don't like it."
"Vote with your feet," advised Elaine. She looked at Jamie and smiled. "She's rarely a creature of her passions."
"Unless someone's being bullied," Gail noted. "Which this is an extension of, I guess."
"Mom please just make waffles and stop psychoanalyzing me." Vivian grumbled and sat down, draping her long upper body across the kitchen island.
With a soft smile, Jamie leaned into Vivian and rubbed her shoulder. "It's your own fault for being a confusing and convoluted person, Viv." It didn't seem to bother Jamie in the slightest. That was a good thing. "We shoveled the driveway, but the road hasn't been run yet, so unless your cars have four wheel drive or something, I think we're stuck for a bit longer."
"I hate that we don't have anyone in city services," said Gail, complaining. But she also started a second round of the sausages. "Anyone who wants eggs, you're on your own."
Holly smiled. "Emily also had a happy ending when the series concluded."
"I'm still pissed about that," said Vivian, bitterly.
"Who is Emily?" Elaine looked confused.
Taking pity, Holly explained. "Emily was a werewolf on a show Vivian liked. She had a girlfriend who died fairly quickly. Vivian was very upset about dead TV lesbians."
"Dead fictional lesbians. I was like eleven anyway." Vivian scowled. "And that's why I don't like to watch your stupid hospital drama, McGann."
Jamie held up her hands. "Everyone suffers equally. They killed of the lead character's husband."
From the stove, Gail snorted. "You're not making a good case there, Jamie."
"Life is painful enough. I don't need a fictional reminder that people die in horrible ways." Vivian sighed. "And not for people who have been used as a ratings ploy."
"Viv," said Gail, warningly.
"I'm not, Mom. I'm voting with my feet and not watching. I hate being a trope."
Elaine huffed. "You know. I often wondered if sexuality was a choice, societal, or genetic."
"Oh fuck," said Gail quietly.
But Elaine went on. "Clearly there must be some genetic predisposition. But the choice to act on it is separate, and societal pressure to be normal is—"
"Mom!" Gail cut her off. "No. No more talking about politics, sexuality, queerbaiting, or anything else volatile until after breakfast. Next person to bring it up gets asked how the sex was last night."
Holly knew she went red. To her amusement, so did Jamie and Gordo. The three Pecks looked nonplussed. "Well played, Peck," she said to her wife.
"I have my moments."
Before lunch, the roads started to clear and Elaine drove Gordo home in her SUV. Vivian and Jamie, being in possession of Vivian's motorcycle, probably would have gone home had Holly not nixed the idea until the roads were much clearer. So while Gail sorted out lunch, the girls shoveled out the walk and joked about how they should have taken Jamie's truck (because of course she had a truck), and played video games.
And then Gail realized the house was quiet. Holly had vanished to work on her latest paper, but the girls were silent and all Gail could hear was the soft sound of a sports game.
She washed her hands and walked into the great room. Empty. Interesting. Vivian was usually pretty good about turning the TV off. Maybe they'd gone for a nap. Or whatever. Probably a nap. Jamie had proven to be a little shy about publicizing the sex that had totally gone on the night before.
As Gail turned, planning to poke her head in her daughter's bedroom and tell them to come down and eat, she heard a snore. An unfamiliar one.
Gail knew Holly's snores. The soft almost-snore when the doctor had fallen asleep reading, propped up, was her favorite. She also knew Vivian's snores. The drunk one, the sick one, and the one when she was face planted in a pillow.
This was none of those.
Walking up to the couch, Gail leaned over and saw the girls, asleep. Their feet and lower legs were tangled up as they slept on opposite ends on the couch. Per usual, Vivian was hugging a pillow close, her upper body compact while her legs were more splayed out. On the other end, Jamie was just completely relaxed. One arm was hooked up over her head, the other pinned to the couch.
With a smile, Gail pulled her phone out and carefully took a photo. It would be useful later, no doubt. Then she leaned over and gently nudged Vivian's shoulder. "Hey, Viv. You wanna stay here tonight?"
Her daughter scrunched up her face. "Huh?" Blearily Vivian's hazel eyes opened and looked up at Gail.
"You fell asleep," said Gail, smiling. "You two wanna get up and eat and go home or..."
After a moment of looking confused, Vivian took a deep breath. "If the roads are clear."
Gail ruffled Vivian's hair. "Shoulda taken Jamie's car."
"She has a truck." Vivian yawned and sat up. "Shut up, Mom."
"She didn't say anything," said Jamie, her voice a mumble.
"She's thinking about queer tropes and bikes and trucks. Wanna get up and go home?"
Jamie shook her head and rolled over, snuggling into the couch. "I'm moving in here. Good couch. Good food."
With a laugh, Vivian got up. "Incredibly inconsiderate roommates."
"Yeah, I made you shower and clean your room."
"And have loud sex when you think I'm asleep, or was too young to know you're totally getting it on." Vivian tossed her pillow onto the couch. "I'm hungry."
Reluctantly, Jamie looked up. "Me too."
"Good. Go get your mother out of her nerdery, junior. Jamie can set the table."
With a purely Peck eyeroll, Vivian bounded up the stairs. "Ugh," said Jamie, sitting up. "She has so much energy."
Gail smiled. "She was very quiet as a little girl. It wasn't until we moved here that she started being more boisterous."
Jamie eyed her skeptically. "She's not. She's just... I dunno." Jamie shook her head. "So I'm setting the table?"
"Not if you don't want to. You actually are a guest," explained Gail and she went into the kitchen to finish sorting out lunch. A few moments later, Jamie came in and asked where various cutlery and dishes were.
When Vivian came back, she shooed Jamie away and finished the table, telling Gail off. The two, Jamie and Vivian, had a very different dynamic than Gail felt she had with Holly. Around Holly, Gail felt more like hugging or even touching people. While Gail had really only seen Vivian with one serious girlfriend before, and even with Olivia, the girl had been practically standoffish. She didn't hug.
And yet Vivian was herself. She was still that same little girl who was shy about being touched and had grown to want hugs but rarely, who was goofy and technology minded, and who had hated showers. Around Jamie, she was more like herself than she was at work or out in the world. Vivian smiled more freely, like she did at home. Vivian laughed. And of all things, Vivian had told Jamie about her birth parents.
As long as Jamie didn't turn out to be a serial killer, Gail would be Team Jamie all the way. Someone who made Vivian smile like that was quite alright in Gail's book.
That night, Holly expressed the same thought while Gail brushed her hair. "I like Jamie. She's good for Vivian."
Gail smiled and carefully started to plait Holly's hair into its nightly braid. "I was worrying about how Viv isn't really cuddly."
"Jamie didn't seem to mind." Holly sighed softly, in a satisfied sort of way. She was like a cat being happily petted, absolutely loving having her hair braided. While Gail didn't always have the time or energy to do it at night, it was calming for her as well. "I think she's just physically contained."
"I guess." Gail frowned and tied off the braid. "I just ... I hug you."
Holly turned around and took hold of Gail's hands. "You remember how your mother thought your inability to connect to people was because she didn't hold you until you were months old, and she fractured your bonding ability?"
Of course Gail remembered that. "Vivian wasn't in an incubator."
"No. But I'm willing to bet her birth parents didn't do much hugging or holding, unless they were steering the kids around. Remember when Steve grabbed her arm?"
That Gail remembered less clearly, and she frowned again. Steve grabbing Vivian... That had to be at the cottage. Right! Vivian had been running up and down the dock and it had rained. Traci had suggested she stop. Steve had caught her arm to slow Vivian down. None of them had ever seen Vivian flinch quite like that before or since.
"I'm still not convinced her father never hit her."
"She says not." Holly squeezed Gail's hands. "Sleep."
Gail grumbled and slid under the covers. "I don't want her to think she's broken or anything."
"She knows she's not," Holly said, insisting. "She's different and I think Jamie likes that about her. Not simple."
"God knows," Gail replied with a sigh.
Holly didn't answer. Not verbally at least. The doctor flicked off the lights, snuggled up next to Gail, and held her quietly in the darkness.
"Hey, welcome back, Peck." Lara bounded up and gave Vivian a super-fast hug around the shoulders.
"I was gone for five days." Rolling her eyes, Vivian poured a cup of coffee and pointed at the box. "Brought donuts."
"Oh! Someone had a good Christmas!"
Vivian smiled. "It was alright."
Her classmate laughed. "Snowed in with your girl?"
"And my moms."
Lara winced. "Okay, that's less fun. You didn't go anywhere for the holidays?"
"Just my folks' place." Vivian sipped her coffee and then asked a question. "You?" In reply she got a stare. "What?" Was there something Vivian was supposed to know and forgot?
But Lara shook her head. "That was you being nice!"
"I am nice," said Vivian, peevishly.
"Yeah, but you never small talk! I mean, you're just a girl-fail."
Vivian rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to twirl my hair around my finger and chew gum?"
Lara snorted. "I swear. I will not get a girly reaction out of you if I tell you I kissed Zeb."
For a split second, Vivian wanted to ask 'Zeb who?' And then she remembered and gibbered. "Wait, what? Zeb the bartender? When? Why!? What!?"
"You are a girl!"
"Shut up! What the hell?"
"He asked me out. We went to a movie on Christmas Eve."
Vivian blinked a few times. The back of her brain filed away the reminder that not everyone did Christmas while she tried to process Zeb, the sleeveless shirt bartender at the Penny, being a guy someone kissed. "And apparently kissed. Explain!"
"Come for drinks tonight and I will."
"Uh, fact check. Drinks where your boyfriend works?"
Rolling her eyes, Lara took a donut. "He's off tonight. Unless you have a date."
Vivian pursed her lips. "No. Jamie's on shift."
"In that case come on, have a girl night with me and Jenny?"
"Last time that meant dancing and ditching me for dudes."
Lara huffed. "Can't get a story without paying your due, Peck!"
Watching Lara bounce off, Vivian shook her head. "I bought the damned donuts!"
But Lara was gone and Vivian sighed. She had time before Parade, so she texted Jamie that Lara was making her go out for girl talk.
I would pay to see that.
You're not helping.
Is that my job? Be helpful?
That's what awesome girlfriends do in books.
Awesome girlfriends in real life do what we did two nights ago
Vivian grinned and sent back a smiling blushing emoji. The reply was the emoji blowing a kiss. Turning her phone to mute, Vivian shoved it into a pocket and went to the Parade room.
It was going to be an okay day. Gerald was in charge, so obviously no one thought any case was coming up into the fray. She had a girlfriend, work friends, and Matty had moved back. While Olivia was gone away, they were friends again as well. Her roommate was a pretty cool, and considerate, friend. Her classmates were people she trusted.
She watched Gerald stumble through parade, taking notes to send to her mother for the laughs later, and grabbed the keys before Nando did, just so she could drive the cruiser.
Pulling her jacket on as she walked outside, Vivian looked up at the overcast, end of December, sky and smiled. The next year was looking pretty good.
This was meant to be a quiet, home and family, chapter. A little cute, a little happy, and some drama slipped in, but not too much.
This brings season two to a close. Season three got a total rip-out-and-rewrite thanks to season three of The 100. The short version is I dialed back some angst and re-wrote a whole relationship angle to make it happier. Season Three starts in MARCH, with the first chapter going up here on March 14, 2017.
