Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or any of the characters….
Thanks for the reviews, favs and follows. Please keep reviewing – let me know what you think, what you like and don't like – it keeps me going.
Just a warning, there is a little bit of smut in this chapter, not enough to change the rating to M (I think), but then those ratings are a bit subjective.
Debby, I'm not entirely sure I like Frankie either but she's fun to write and I think in this story we're stuck with her.
…...
Gail knew they were being too loud and hoped the walls were soundproof or that the people on either side of her room were out, otherwise there might be complaints. This was the third orgasm she had had since Holly showed up at her door, and it was so intense and lasting so incredibly long that she felt incapable of being quiet and was in fact now beyond caring if they disturbed anyone.
The first time had been feverish, both of them stumbling to the bed as they tried to take their clothes off and touch and kiss all at once, unable to decide what to do first. The second had been slower as they took their time to reacquaint themselves with each other's bodies, the urgency of the first time giving way to a savoring of the familiar. Their unhurried rediscovery made headier by Holly's declaration.
Now Holly had two fingers inside Gail and her thumb on her clit, and was pulling one of Gail's nipples gently between her teeth before running the flat of her tongue over it and then moving up to kiss her, and Gail couldn't believe that three hours ago she had resigned herself to a loveless future.
…...
From her position on the podium, Holly had seen Gail find a seat at the very back of the room. She had taken this as a sign that Gail would wait around to talk, but ten minutes before the session was due to conclude, Gail left. Surrounded, as she was, by the other four panel members and an audience, there was no way Holly could follow her, not without creating a scene. Besides it would be highly unprofessional, something Holly found anathema, although in this moment she wished she had a little less of the work ethic.
Holly's plan to leave as soon as the session ended was thwarted when she found herself besieged by colleagues eager to talk to her about the session, her latest research and the upcoming book. A good half hour passed before Holly could extricate herself with promises to continue the conversation at the conference dinner that evening.
Making her way to the hotel lobby, she found herself face to face with girl-cop. God, thought Holly, when did I start calling her that. Girl-cop brightened when she spotted Holly, almost as if she'd been deliberately waiting here for the doctor. It occurred to Holly that she couldn't seem to step into the lobby without running into someone she'd rather avoid. Just as girl-cop was about to speak, Holly cut her off, for once not caring about being polite.
'Have you seen Gail?' she asked, trying not to sound as desperate as she felt.
Girl-cop's face flattened slightly. 'She was here when I came out of the session. I think she was headed to the bar'. Holly nodded her thanks.
The bar was quiet, still at little early for all but the hardened drinkers and Gail was not among them. The barman confirmed she had been there but had left about ten minutes before. 'Kind of blonde, blue eyes, attractive, woman of few words?' he asked Holly, who nodded. ' She went out that side exit, where the washrooms are,' he said jerking his head towards the back of the bar, 'She might have just gone to the ladies because she left her drinks'. He gestured to a table where Holly spied two shots and a tumbler of whisky. All three drinks were untouched.
Holy felt a slight panic. Had something happened to Gail? Was she unwell? Passed out? Checking the restroom, she found it was empty. She noticed that the passageway to the restrooms also led to a bank of elevators in the lobby, which were tucked away slightly to the side of the reception desk. It was possible Gail had slipped out this way and taken the elevator to her room, which was why both she and Girl-cop would have missed her leaving the bar.
As Holly was weighing up whether she should check for Gail in her room or return to the bar, the elevator dinged and Rodney emerged. He was clearly delighted to see his old boss and keen to talk about the case that Holly had consulted on that morning. Once again not caring if she was being rude, Holly interrupted to ask if he'd seen Gail.
'Oh, yes', he nodded, 'She was getting out of the elevator as I got in. She decided to take an earlier flight back to Toronto tonight and was going to her room to pack'.
Holly couldn't hide the alarm she felt on hearing this. 'Oh, I have to go speak to her'. She felt a little guilty brushing Rodney off, but if Gail was planning on leaving tonight she knew she had no time to waste.
Rodney watched as Holly jabbed the elevator button impatiently. He could tell she was flustered. At work she was, without fail, composed and in control. Even when faced with the most difficult or disturbing cases, Holly was measured, not allowing emotions to overwhelm the science or cloud her judgment, knowing emotions would impede her quest to find answers, to provide some resolution for those left behind.
The only time Rodney ever saw her agitated at work was because of Gail. Like the time she rushed down to 15 after hearing some cops had been shot at. He suspected that whatever was flustering Holly now had everything to do with Gail and that Gail's early departure wasn't, as she had told him, because she 'was sick of the sight of Anderson', but had everything to do with Holly.
…...
When Gail heard the knock on the door, she guessed it had to be Holly or Frankie, but she didn't want to face either of them. They wouldn't know if she was actually in her room, so she figured if she just ignored the knocking who ever it was would go away. Taking out her suitcase, she placed it on the bed and began to pack. When the knocking didn't stop, she sighed and went to open the door. Holly was standing there, her face a mix of worry and something else and Gail recognized that it was agitation, and wondered guiltily if she was the cause.
It reminded her of how Holly had been when she dragged Gail into the interrogation room when Ford was on the loose. Gail knew, just as she had grasped back then, that Holly was here because she cared deeply about her, but unlike then she also knew they had missed their chance at a relationship, or if she was honest she had fucked up their chance.
'Holly', it can't work. We never get the timing right', Gail said, anticipating what Holly would say, her tone soft and regretful.
Holly responded by handing Gail a file. 'That meeting I had yesterday, it was with the Chief of Ontario Forensics. Take a look', she said.
Gail frowned. What was Holly up to now, she wondered. Opening the file, she found what appeared to be an employment contract. Scanning the papers, she saw Holly's signature alongside that of the Chief Forensic Pathologist of Ontario. 'Holly, what the hell?' Gail's words were cut off as Holly yanked the file out of her hands and then pulled her into a fierce kiss. Gail didn't stop to think. She kissed Holly back, but as the kiss grew more heated, she drew back.
'What about the job in Paris?'
'I turned it down', said Holly, 'Believe me I've tried really hard to move on. I've dated other women, I've thrown myself into work, I've even thought about moving to the other side of the world, but none of it works'. Holly words came out in a rush, and as she spoke she began to move her hands around nervously. Gail watched her intently, her expression giving nothing away.
'You're it for me. I want I want everything with you. I want to be with you, to make a life with you and I've never felt that way about anyone else. And maybe, maybe you don't feel the same way, but I need you to know this, and I shouldn't have waited this long to tell you. And even if you don't want to be with me, I'm still coming back because I miss Toronto, I miss my friends and my family and I even miss the job but mainly I miss you and'.
Gail didn't let Holly finish. Placing her hands on either side of Holly's face, she leaned in and kissed her.
…...
After the second time, they lay tangled together, their limbs heavy and their skin pleasantly humming. Holly held Gail close and for a while they stayed like that, still and content, not wanting to break the exquisiteness of the moment. Gail knew her own smile mirrored Holly's blissful one. If it had been anyone else, she would have called them saps. She felt like something had passed between them, an acknowledgement of what they meant to each other that made it clear there would be no turning back now, no misunderstanding of intentions.
It occurred to her then that this is what she had thought when she and Holly were first together, when she confessed to Dov, in a rare fit of candor, the depth of her feelings for Holly. She had assumed Holly felt the same way, only to have that certainty shattered hours later when she heard Holly tell Lisa that they were having fun. She knew now that she had over-reacted, that Holly was trying to brush Lisa off. At the time though, when she believed she had found someone she could finally really love and who might love her, broken and prickly and full of self-doubt as she was, hearing those words had confirmed her fears that she was indeed unlovable, that she wasn't, as Nick had told her, girlfriend material let alone someone Holly might want a future with.
It was that assumption, well that and her insecurities and her inclination to self-sabotage, that had left Gail without Holly and led her here, nearly two years later, wanting desperately to start again. She would do what ever it took not to make that mistake again, to throw away the most wonderful person she had ever met, and it struck her that this time round she needed to be measured and cautious.
'We should date', Gail said, breaking the silence.
'Date?' Holly blinked in surprise.
'Yes, when you get back to Toronto'.
'Gail', said Holly, shifting up the bed to sit up, 'Isn't it a bit late to think about dating? We've just had sex - twice'
Gail arched one of her sculptured eyebrows. 'I had noticed that, Holly. In fact, I am only just regaining the use of my limbs'. Holly smirked as Gail continued, 'But I wasn't kidding when I told you yesterday that I'm a work in progress. I push people away and I've never really had a successful relationship. The jury's still out on whether I am actually girlfriend material'.
'Gail', Holly interrupted with a sympathetic sigh, hating Nick for making Gail believe this. 'Did you hear what I said before. I want to be with you, I want a relationship with you, which means I think you most definitely are girlfriend material'.
Ah, Gail thought, so we are on the same page. She smiled, feeling warm but slightly abashed at Holly's faith in her. 'Okay, but last time we just rushed into things and look what happened. I mean one minute we were friends and then we were kissing in the interrogation room, then I was cutting off my hair and the next thing we were having sex and then it was over', she said, 'Sex was always the easy thing for us. Maybe if we take it slow, have a few dates, we can get the rest right'.
'You do know', said Holly, 'That our first date was actually the batting cages'.
'Alright, alright, yes I suppose it was. But I don't want to fuck this up this time. Holly, I'm still a brat and impetuous and self-destructive'.
'Gail', Holly drew her name out in a gentle admonishment. 'I'm also guilty of being impulsive. I kissed you in a coatroom when I thought you were straight. I dated someone immediately after you, then asked you to come to San Francisco when we weren't even together. I didn't even think it through, you know, why it would hurt you to hear me say we were just having fun. I just got angry with you for ignoring me'.
Gail grimaced at that, and shook her head sadly. 'I didn't make it easy for you, Holly. I created that stupid emergency and then I didn't talk to you. And yesterday in the bar I was tying so hard to prove to you how much I've changed and then look how I behaved last night'.
Holly titled her head to the side and smiled at Gail, 'I think maybe Frankie has a lot to answer for that. If she hadn't showed, I was going to tell you about the job and coming back to Toronto'.
'About that, what if I was seeing someone?'
'I guess I would have tried to be your friend at least. I told you I planned on coming back regardless of how you felt about me. I didn't even know I was going to be at the conference until the last minute. So I didn't think I'd see you until I was back in Toronto. And I did kind of cheat, I checked with Rodney and he was fairly sure you were single'.
'Really, you gossiped with Rodney?' Gail exclaimed, with mock outrage.
'I wouldn't exactly call it gossiping. Just checking on a colleague. So dating, does that mean no sex?'
'Well, not straightaway. I mean Holly, I don't imagine you're the kind of girl who puts out on a first date,' said Gail cheekily.
'So how long before?'
'God you scientists, always needing to measure and calculate. These things happen organically, I don't think you can put a timeframe on it', Gail teased.
'So', said Holly, leaning in to kiss Gail, and then running her hand across her stomach to the underside of her breast, 'this no sex rule, when does it start?'
Gail's breath hitched. 'Oh, when you get to Toronto. Definitely when you get to Toronto'.
…...
They had continued on in the morning as they had the night before. Gail decided that the noise Holly made as she came was her most favorite sound in the world. Now as Holly's orgasm subsided, Gail made her way from between Holly's legs, kissing a trail up her body before stopping to kiss her on the lips. Holly moaned as she tasted herself on Gail. Sex with Gail had always been astonishing, but last night, and now this morning, Gail had an assuredness that Holly found as sexy as hell. She wondered if it came from having slept with other women or the fact that she had finally been completely open about how she felt about Gail. Well, almost completely open, she thought, neither had used the l word yet. A pounding on the door interrupted her musings.
'Who do you think it is', she asked Gail.
'Hopefully not hotel management. You were a little loud nerd'.
'I could say the same thing about you', Holly countered.
'Well, if we ignore it, they'll probably go away', Gail said, even though that same logic had failed her last night. When the pounding not only continued but also increased in volume, Gail realized that just like last night she had no choice but to answer the door. As she opened it, Frankie pushed past her and into the room as if her being there was the most natural thing in the world. She was carrying a cardboard tray with two coffee cups. Gail could see Holly scrambling to cover herself with the sheet.
'Anderson, what the hell?' said Gail, suddenly realizing she had spent a lot of the last two days saying this or words to that effect to the detective. She was conscious the room smelled headily of sex and instinct told her to put herself between Frankie and Holly, so she scuttled after the detective.
'The car for the airport leaves in 40 minutes. We're giving girl-cop a ride. Holly, she said you're on the same flight to San Francisco, so you can come with us. I got you coffee and pastries – I figured you might need refueling', Frankie smirked as she handed first Holly and then Gail coffee, and put the pastries on the nightstand. Then with her hands free, she extracted her phone from her pocket and took a photo of the two women.
'Anderson, what the actual fuck?' Gail said.
'Just needed evidence so I could collect on a bet with Rodney', said Frankie blithely.
'What bet, Frankie', Gail enunciated each word, her face thunderous.
'About Dr Stewart's whereabouts last night. You were missed Holly', Frankie said insouciantly. 'Rodney didn't believe that you two were finally having sex. He was convinced Peck was on a flight back to Toronto and that Holly would only miss the dinner because of an emergency. But I was right, you spent the night fucking, and it would seem the morning too'.
Gail felt herself going red, and she suspected that under her tan skin Holly was also blushing. Frankie was at her most obnoxious when she was smug, thought Gail.
'See you downstairs in, oh, 35 minutes', said Frankie with exaggerated sweetness and with that she left the room.
Holly recovered first. 'Is she a package deal?'
'I'm afraid so,' said Gail, 'in a weird way she looks out for me. What', she pointed between Holly and herself, 'are you reconsidering?'
'Never,' said Holly, 'I can handle Frankie'.
'You know she'll take credit for getting us back together', Gail said, 'Oh and when you start work as the Deputy Chief of Forensics can you ride Rodney's ass'.
…...
I could finish the story here, although I do have some ideas about what happens next when Holly returns to Toronto, including the reappearance of Lisa in the next chapter. Does anyone know if we ever found out her last name. I know Athingor3 calls her Dr Gordon in 'You Belong to Me'. Anyway, should I continue?
