Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or any of the characters...

Thanks again for the reviews, favs and follows. I really do love to hear what you think about this fic so please keep reviewing! For people who are encouraging me to continue, I plan to. I've been on holidays so have had a bit more time to write (which explains the longer chapters) but I'm back at work in a week so might not be able to update as frequently. When I first started writing this, I naively thought 2500 words was long for a chapter – how wrong was I – hope you can cope with the length of this chapter.

TanyaReads, you're right I deliberately had Elaine play a part in saving Gail because I do want them to have a chance at reconciling, and tweetygurl42 that doctor that Holly dated in San Francisco will make an appearance sometime soon and, as you said LuceLuxe, nothing worse than a hangover on your second day in a new job. Are things about to get even worse for Holly and Gail?

Hope you enjoy this. Let me know.

Gail was jerked awake by a nightmare about Perick. In the dream, she wasn't able to see. All she could hear was the staccato tap of those damn wingtip shoes on the concrete floor of the basement as he got closer and closer, and with it the sour smell of his sweat mixed with something antiseptic. She felt his stale breath hot upon her cheek and finally the needle piercing her skin, then the cold sting of the drug as it went into her veins.

Her body became leaden, terror shooting through her as she realized she couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, not even a whimper to protest at the way the ties at her wrist cut into her flesh. Then suddenly she heard a voice. Not Perick's, but Lucia's, low and sultry but full of menace, saying 'make her drink this and she'll do what ever we want her to'.

She woke then, her heart racing and her skin clammy, and the bedcovers suffocatingly heavy. Gail had a feeling she may have called out, but if she did it hadn't disturbed Holly, who was a sound sleeper even though she claimed otherwise.

Once, after a late night stakeout, Gail had let herself into Holly's townhouse and in the dark tripped over a low table that Gail swore wasn't there the day before and which for some reason Holly had decided to move, and as she fell, grabbing blindly at something to hold onto, she pulled down a rack of cds, the plastic containers spilling across the floor in an endless clatter. Holly slept through it all. Gail knew too that Holly set her ringtone to loud so she never missed a callout. She guessed being a heavy sleeper had its advantages when you had a girlfriend who worked odd shifts.

Holly had moved in the night so she was curled against Gail with an arm around her waist. Gail gently extracted herself and slipped out of bed. In the bathroom she splashed cold water on her face. Looking in the mirror, she saw the tiredness in the dark, puffy circles under her eyes, stark against the paleness of her skin.

It had been awhile since she'd dreamt about the basement. There had been a few months when the nightmares were constant after she'd told her therapist about Perick and admitted that no she had never really dealt with it. Just pushed it under the rug and moved on like a good Peck. Just like her mother advised when she eventually showed up after the abduction, telling Gail, 'you won't achieve anything by dwelling on this Abigail. The best course of action is to learn from this so you don't make the same mistake again'. Her therapist had gently asked 'Do you think its time we dwell on it now?' Gail, feeling in equal measures relieved and terrified, had nodded.

She shouldn't be surprised that Lucia had joined Perick in the nightmare. Coming to in the windowless storage room, her senses dulled by the ketamine, it was as if she had been plunged back into Perick's basement. What were the odds of being drugged and held captive twice, Gail wondered. She'd have to ring her therapist, even though she was overcome by lassitude at the thought of revisiting the basement.

They'd made some progress on the kidnapping. She could now take a taxi if she was with someone else, but still not on her own, and if she found herself in a dark, confined space her chest no longer tightened and she could breathe normally, not in shallow, desperate gasps. With the therapist's help, Gail had reconciled herself to Bill and Elaine's seeming indifference to her wellbeing both on this and so many other occasions. She still blamed herself for Jerry's death though –she didn't think she ever could or should let go of that.

Gail's phone was ringing as she came back into the bedroom and she stepped out onto the patio to take the call so as not to wake Holly. A cracked rib and possible concussion, she was told. No one said anything about a head injury until she got to the hospital.

….

Holly's head still thudded with a constant almost heavy ache and her eyes felt scratchy. She knew she needed more sleep. The painkillers and a scalding shower had taken the edge off the hangover, as had the strong cup of coffee Chloe handed her. Her second day as deputy chief and she had a sinking feeling it was going to go about as well as the first.

'Gail still asleep?' Chloe asked as Holly found her way downstairs into the kitchen.

'She had to be somewhere early. She left a note'.

'Really? She looked dog-tired last night. She told me she wanted to sleep for a week, which knowing Gail would be something she'd be capable of doing', said Chloe, blithely unaware of the effect of her comments on the woman seated before her at Gail's kitchen table.

Holly mentally kicked herself. She had been so relieved to see Gail she hadn't stopped to think that of course Gail would be exhausted after weeks of undercover. Not to mention she'd jumped on a plane literally the moment the bust was over and who knew what happened to her when she disappeared off the radar for those 10 hours. Gail certainly hadn't wanted to talk about it last night. She told anyone who asked, including Holly, that the investigation was still active and she couldn't say anything right now.

'I don't usually drink, not like that', Holly told Chloe, feeling she needed to explain why she'd been so insensitive to Gail. She was mortified that Gail had looked after her last night when it should have been the other way round.

'I didn't pick you for a drinker', smiled Chloe, 'but we all do crazy things when we're in love.'

'Um, I, ah', stuttered Holly.

'Oh, you haven't told her yet,' Chloe said, suddenly understanding why Holly was being so inarticulate. Holly started to nod, but then stopped. Her head wasn't up to vigorous movement just yet.

'Well, I won't saying anything. But just so you know, I'm 100 percent sure Gail feels the same way'.

'God if I haven't chased her away by being a lush,' Holly groaned, 'Do you have any idea where she would have gone so early?'

'She didn't say?' Chloe looked surprised, 'Maybe Superintendent Mom summonsed her.'

'She still does that?

'Well, not lately. Not since they stopped talking to each other when Steve went to jail.'

…..

Gail met her parents outside the Intensive Care Unit at Toronto General.

'They've put him in an induced coma until the swelling on his brain subsides', she explained.

Elaine nodded, while Bill looked straight past Gail at the wall behind her. She hadn't seen her father since the court case. He looked ten years older and had the grey pallor of someone who was unwell and she thought resignedly she was probably responsible for this as well as what had happened to Steve.

'I'm sorry', she said softly, 'this is my fault. If I had spoken up for Steve in court.'

'Abigail, now is not the time to ascribe blame', her mother cut in, 'we'll go and sit with him. Bill'. Elaine turned to her husband.

Bill had not spoken since they had arrived, not even to greet Gail, but rather remained stiff and motionless. Now, at the sound of his name, he came to with a little start and for the first time looked directly at Gail and, from the expression on his face, she saw that his rigidity came from barely contained anger.

As they turned to go through the thick glass door of the ICU, Gail called after Elaine, saying 'Mom, I'll ask around. See if this was random or if someone is going after Steve'.

Elaine gave a brisk nod and followed her husband into the ICU.

….

Once she arrived at work, Holly went directly to Dr Carral's office. She felt she owed him an explanation too.

'Ah Holly, a little worse for the wear today,' Dr Carral raised an eyebrow, but gave an understanding smile.

'Ahh, about that, I need to apologise', Holly began but the Chief interrupted her.

'Detective Peck explained last night. We of all people are aware of the dangers the police face, so I can imagine how tough it was for you to hear she had disappeared. I'm sorry you weren't able to tell me what was going on. You didn't need to be at work with that kind of worry'.

Ruben Carral liked Gail Peck. People had described the detective as cold and querulous and even lazy but aside from her startling beauty, which was impossible to overlook, he had been struck by her sharp mind and appreciation of the importance of forensics to good police work. As well, since he'd moved here from Quebec she was one of the few people who took the trouble to speak to him in French. From what he could gather during their brief conversation last night, she cared very much for Holly.

Carral didn't know much about Holly's personal life. He knew she was gay, she made no secret of that, and in his opinion nor should she, but that was it. He'd taken over the department after she'd left for San Francisco, but he had met her at conferences and read much of her published work, and had always been impressed. She was much sought after in the forensic field and they were lucky she had agreed to return to Toronto, although he suspected he might have Gail to thank for that.

'It was better to be here, I think, even if I was a little distracted', said Holly wondering when Gail had had a chance to speak to Carral at the Penny. Something else she hadn't noticed. She was filled with warmth at the thought that Gail had quietly smoothed things over with Carral because she knew Holly well enough to realize that in the sober light of day the doctor would be horrified to think she'd made a bad impression on her first day in the job.

As she made her way back to her office, Holly was greeted by a number of colleagues who gave her knowing smiles. At least she imagined they were knowing but perhaps she was just being paranoid. One lab technician even winked and said 'So you and Detective Peck, huh'.

Holly sighed. She was relatively young to be deputy chief of forensics and had beaten out several internal candidates for the position, and it was a good bet that some, if not all, were likely to resent her and secretly hope she failed, which made it even more important that she prove herself in the job. She feared last night had just made that task even more difficult.

Gail knew she needed to call Traci. As the detective in charge of guns and gangs, Traci had contacts who may be able to tell her if someone was after Steve. There were plenty of candidates. When Steve had admitted his guilt, he had also agreed to give evidence against Commissioner Santana and in the process implicated the people Santana was protecting. Not to mention, as Gail's father had made clear outside the court, the number of criminals Steve had put away who'd want a piece of him.

In fact it was surprising it had taken this long for this to happen, Gail thought. Sure Steve had been roughed up a few times and the other prisoners were mostly antagonistic once they discovered he was ex-police, but he was in a minimum security prison which reduced his chances of coming across people he had locked up while working for guns and gangs.

She took out her phone and brought up Traci's contact number. It was the second call she had to make today to someone who didn't want to speak her. The first, of course had been to her mother, who had expressed surprise that Steve had nominated Gail as his next of kin, but was subdued as soon as Gail told her the extent of Steve's injuries. 'We're on our way', she said curtly before hanging up.

She hadn't had a chance to speak to Steve before he was put in a coma, but the doctor said they had to move fast but she was hopeful the swelling on his brain would go down over the next few days and they could avoid surgery. Once he was brought out of the coma, they would have a better idea of the damage and what sort of rehabilitation he might require.

A prison guard had been posted by Steve's bed, which Gail knew was protocol, but really he was hardly going anywhere. As the doctor spoke she kept glancing at the guard and Gail wondered whether she had a problem either with the guard or with treating a prisoner, so when she said, 'Do you have any questions Miss Peck', Gail had replied 'it's detective'.

She didn't want the doctor to dismiss Steve as some low-life criminal and for this to compromise his treatment, and she thought if she identified herself as a detective then the doctor would see that Steve was not all bad.

'Sorry?' the doctor said, looking puzzled.

God, did she need to flash her badge. 'I'm Detective Peck, but if you are treating my brother I imagine we are going to be seeing a lot of each other so please call me Gail'.

When the doctor left, Gail realized she did have a lot of questions. She wished Holly were there to explain what was happening to Steve because she had a knack for making even the most complicated medical procedures intelligible. But she didn't want to involve Holly or in fact any of her friends. The people at 15 never mentioned Steve, it was as if he had never existed, which was understandable given the extent of his betrayal, and Gail doubted they'd have any sympathy for him now.

Holly of course would support her, but Gail didn't want to scare her away by letting her see just how much of a shit storm her life really was, although if last night was anything to go by Holly didn't have any intention of running. Then again they'd already had enough drama in their relationship and Gail didn't think it was fair to entangle Holly in this one, especially when she had only just returned to Toronto expecting the promised dates and all those happy things that were supposed to happen when you started seeing someone. No, she'd make that call to Traci but after that she needed to deal with the Pecks on her own.

At 5.15pm Holly's phone pinged with an incoming text. It was from Gail and read:

Caught up with a thing. I'll call tomorrow.

Was that it, was that the only explanation she was going to get, thought Holly, caught up with a thing. Last time Gail had a thing, as she had called it, she had nearly adopted a child. Holly was fairly certain that wasn't the case now, but why was Gail being so mysterious. Was it related to the undercover job, but Gail had said her part in that was finished, and she would only need to return to Vancouver for the court case.

Was I too clingy, wondered Holly, but then since Chicago they had been pretty clear about what they meant to each other. Gail certainly hadn't objected to her attentions last night. Although she could imagine that it wasn't always easy to go back to normal life after being undercover, and maybe Gail was overwhelmed by that transition, particularly as on her return Holly was suddenly part of the life she'd left behind. But then Gail was so sweet to Holly last night, helping her to bed while the room seemed to be shifting all around her and she dared not speak in case she threw up.

Ugh, Holly sighed to herself, she thought she and Gail had agreed to always tell each other stuff, to communicate, and here she was once again trying to second guess Gail. Deciding that for the moment she wouldn't pressure Gail, she typed out a text.

OK. Call me when you can. xx Holly

Were the kisses too much? If Gail was being a cat up a tree would the kisses push her up to an even higher branch. Holly shook her head as if to clear it. What a stupid analogy, she thought. It had been hard enough to work out what Gail was talking about on the day they met when she described herself as being like a cat up a tree, so Holly didn't get why she herself was trying to use the analogy now. Dammit, she thought and hit the send button.

…..

'Seamus O'Connell', Traci stated, as she placed a file on the table in front of Gail, 'he works for O'Leary'.

They had agreed to meet in a coffee shop near 15 after Traci finished her shift. She didn't have much time, Traci explained as she sat down, before she needed to collect Leo from her mother.

When Gail rang and asked for help, Traci had said nothing for so long that Gail wondered if she had rung off, but finally she breathed a single word 'Okay'.

Gail opened the file and looked at Seamus O'Connell's mug shot. He was a brutish man, with a wide square head and eyes like slits and a four leaf clover was tattooed on his right temple. His rap sheet was extensive.

'What was he doing in minimum security?' Gail asked.

'He was picked up for unpaid parking fines. We hoped that once we got him down to the station we could get him to cough about some other activities we suspect he's involved in, but he wouldn't co-operative. And instead of paying the parking fines, he opted for a month in prison and no one goes to maximum for parking fines'.

Gail nodded. She didn't need to say anything. She sensed Traci was aware that going after O'Connell had indirectly led to Steve being bashed.

'The good news is that O'Leary doesn't want him dead. He just wanted to teach him a lesson', Traci said, 'I don't think they'll come after him again, but Gail once he's out of hospital Steve shouldn't stay in Toronto'.

'Can you believe it Trace, he is due to be released in two weeks. He almost made it without this happening'.

Traci's face softened. 'I'm sorry, Gail', she said.

…..

People might think it strange, but for Holly an autopsy had a particular rhythm and an order that she found calming and which at this moment was working to distract her from thinking about why Gail hadn't called her for two days.

The victim was the member of a gang. Shot execution style. An officer she had not met before had been sent ahead with her to the morgue. He had introduced himself as Officer Duncan Moore. Gangly and gormless, he was like an oversized kid and gave the impression he was playing at being a police officer. Frankie came into the room as Holly was leaning over the body to remove the liver.

'Eyes front', Frankie snapped at Officer Moore, and Holly looked up to see the officer hastily averting his eyes from her. Wait, had he been staring at her breasts, she wondered.

'Gerald go get coffee', ordered Frankie and then turning to Holly, 'flat white right Doctor?' and Holly nodded, 'Okay two flat whites Gerald' and she handed him some notes before dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

'Gail would have made him pay', Holly observed.

'Well, I'm nicer than Gail, I thought you would have realized that by now'.

'I thought his name was Duncan', Holly said, choosing to ignore Frankie's comment.

'Gail called him Gerald and it sort of stuck'.

That sounded right, thought Holly. Gail was always giving people nicknames. She was nerd and lunchbox. Chloe was the Disney princess, there was Girl Guide wouldn't hurt a fly McNally and Boy Scout Diaz. Dov was king of the dorks and behind Frankie's back, Gail called the detective the lesbian Lothario or LL. The epithet was usually accompanied by an eye-roll.

'Have you realized yet that you've chosen the wrong detective?' Frankie asked, the swagger in her tone impossible to miss.

Holly laughed. She knew Frankie was just trying to needle her. It seemed to be her way of communicating. In this respect she was not unlike Gail, but where there was a playfulness to Gail's asperity, Frankie just seemed sulky.

'I've heard about your claim to give women the best sex of their lives', Holly said.

So Gail had told Holly about that, thought Frankie, but was determined not be embarrassed by her boasfulness, even though hearing Holly quote it back to her did make it sound somewhat arrogant. Frankie was very confident about her abilities when it can to sex but when she had said that to Gail she was just trying to get under her skin. Not that that had stopped Gail sleeping with her.

'Are you propositioning me Holly?'

Holly laughed again. 'No, I've heard the testimonials'.

'Geez, what has Peck said'. Frankie sounded peeved.

'Actually, nothing Frankie. I'm just messing with you'.

Frankie scowled. She realized she'd walked straight into that. She'd have to be alert around Holly. No wonder she and Gail worked, because Holly gave just as good as she got.

…..

Steve somehow looked smaller lying in the bed hooked up to so many machines Gail knew she should ring Holly, but she didn't know what to say to her. Maybe it was better to wait until the swelling on Steve's brain had gone down and they had a clearer idea of his prognosis.

She was startled by the sound of her mother's voice.

'Have you been here since yesterday?' Elaine asked, but instead of sounding critical, her tone was one of concern. 'You should go home, get some rest'.

Gail shrugged and stretched as she got out of her chair. 'I'll go get us coffee'.

As Gail stepped out of the elevator on the ground floor and made her way to the hospital cafeteria, she was thinking at least it makes decent coffee because she wouldn't have got through the last few days without the caffeine. Sometime soon, she was sure, she would get a good night's sleep. However, her musings were cut short when she heard her name being yelled out and not just her name.

'Gail Peck, you fucking asshole'.

Gail sighed and turned. It was Lisa.

'Good afternoon to you too, Lisa'.

'No its not Peck. For the past two days Rachael and I have had to listen to Holly moan endlessly about whether she came on too strong and has pushed you away and some dammed stupid analogy about a cat. If you're giving her the silent treatment again, I swear, wait why are you at the hospital? Is something wrong with you?'

Gail shook her head 'No, its my brother. Head injury. He's in an induced coma'. Really, she should have anticipated seeing Lisa at the hospital. Instead she was taken off guard and now without thinking blurted out the truth to her.

'Oh,' said Lisa, softening slightly. 'I'm sorry to hear that, that's a tough thing to deal with, but its no excuse for not speaking to Holly'.

'No, its not, but its complicated', Gail bit her bottom lip, unsure how to explain it to Lisa. It had made complete sense in her head when she had ticked off the reasons for keeping Holly out of the latest Peck drama, but now with Lisa looking at her so belligerently she wasn't so sure.

'Are you being all stoic and trying to deal with this on your own', Lisa said, the anger creeping back into her voice. 'I've got news for you Peck, this is Holly. She'd want to help. At the very least you should tell her. I have to go. I'm running late for surgery but you need to call her now'.

'I know. I will', Gail said as Lisa spun on her heel. Just as she was about to disappear into the elevator, Lisa turned back to Gail.

'I'll come by and look at his chart, if you'd like. Whose his neuro doctor?'

'Dr Barrett'.

'Oh Alannah. She's very good' said Lisa, 'Holly and I went to med school with her'.

Of course you did, thought Gail.

'And Gail, she used to have a thing for Holly'.

Of course she did.

Gail hadn't called yesterday. Holly didn't know what to do. She'd tried to play it cool, not wanting to push Gail. It felt like the Penny incident all over again and she didn't want to react the way she did last time, leaving countless texts and messages that went unanswered for weeks. Should she go round to Gail's house? Perhaps she should talk to Chloe. She might have some idea about why Gail had disappeared on her.

Holly felt a flash of anger. This shouldn't be happening. Relationships shouldn't be this difficult. All Gail had to do, in fact what Gail had promised to do, was talk to her. Instead here was Holly at work supposed to be concentrating on budget allocations for the next financial year ahead of a meeting with Dr Carral and all she could think about was Gail.

Until Gail, Holly hadn't believed she could love anyone so completely, so recklessly, to give herself so entirely with no heed to how vulnerable it made her, but if Gail was going to run hot and cold like this Holly didn't know if she could bear to be in love with her. Before she could really consider the implications of that thought, Holly heard a tap on her office door. She looked up to see Traci Nash, a large smile on her face.

'I had to see Rodney about a case, so thought I'd stop by and welcome you back. I couldn't make it to the Penny the other night', Traci said.

'It's great to see you Traci'. Holly came around from behind her desk to hug Traci. 'And I believe you're a Detective Sergeant now, congratulations'.

'Thanks and congratulations to you too Deputy Chief. You're on the fast track Holly', Traci smiled.

'Yeah, well I have a feeling there are a few people around here who may have a problem with that'.

Traci raised her eyebrows questioningly.

'With my age', Holly clarified.

'They'll get over it once they see how good you are at your job. It's always something though isn't it. You're a woman, or black or too young. I'm guessing being gay doesn't make it easy either sometimes'.

'Yeah' said Holly, knowing that of course Traci would have come across her share of bigotry in the workplace, and probably far worse than any she had encountered. 'Ignore me. I'm just feeling a little sorry for myself'.

'Well, it must be hard, trying to settle in with everything going on with Steve. I'm guessing you probably haven't seen much of Gail'.

'Traci what do you mean, what's going on with Steve?'

'Oh' said Traci, 'Gail hasn't told you. Of course. Those Pecks were brought up to be so stupidly self-reliant. He was beaten by another prisoner. He's at Toronto General. They put him in an induced coma'.

'Oh god', said Holly, 'so a brain injury. He was due to be released in two weeks. Gail's going to blame herself'.

Traci nodded.

'I need to go to her. She'll be at the hospital won't she?' Holly said, pushing aside her earlier anger at Gail and unable to think of anything but the urgency of getting to her.

Outside the hospital cafeteria, Gail took out her phone and brought up Holly's contact. Another difficult call she needed to make. She had a lot of explaining to do. If she hadn't had the foresight to get Holly's new number at the Penny the other night, she could have used that as an excuse for not ringing. No, definitely not, who are you kidding Gail thought, as she heard Holly's voice on the other end of the phone.

'Gail', Holly sounded breathless as if she'd been running.

'I'm at the hospital, with Steve', Gail knew she sounded small and apologetic.

'I know. I'm one my way'.

…..

Gail had drawn the curtain around Steve's bed for some privacy. She needed to shut out the rest of the ICU, every bed taken up by a patient as critical or worse than Steve, surrounded by beeping machines and hooked up to endless tubes with relatives at their bedsides looking as ashen and exhausted as she no doubt appeared. Only two relatives were allowed in the ICU at one time, so most families, including the Pecks, were taking it in shifts, although Bill had managed to avoid Gail since that first day. At least the guard had gone after that first day.

The curtain was pulled back slightly and Holly was there, all concern and love on her face, and she pulled Gail into a fierce hug. Gail held on to her as tight as she could and said 'Thank you for coming', the words almost breathed rather than spoken as she fought to stop the tears.

Holly drew back and then placed a soft kiss on Gail's lips. 'I've come to take you home', she said.

'Holly, I can't. I need to be here in case. I don't want to leave him on his own', Gail gestured at Steve.

'Honey its okay. Your mother said she'll sit with Steve tonight'.

'Wait, you spoke to Elaine'.

'Yeah, she's just outside in the ICU waiting room. The only reason I was allowed in here was because she told the nurses I was your girlfriend'.

'She knew that', Gail asked puzzled, 'Of course, she'd have her spies'.

'And I've spoken with Alannah, Dr Barrett', Holly continued, deciding now was not the time to speculate about how Elaine knew about her and Gail's relationship, 'and she said she's pleased with Steve's progress. The swelling has reduced significantly and Dr Barrett is confident she can bring him out of the coma tomorrow. So I suggest, I take you home, you have a shower, which I hate to say but you really need, you eat some of the dinner Chloe is preparing as we speak, then you sleep and tomorrow morning I'll bring you back here'.

Gail could only nod. She was so stupid. Why hadn't she called Holly earlier.

'I'm sorry I didn't call. You should be angry with me'.

'Gail', Holly's voice was firmer now, 'Believe me, I am angry that you shut me out, and don't worry we are going to talk about that but not now. Okay?'

Again Gail nodded.

'I didn't want to burden you with my crap'

'Gail, am I your girlfriend?'

Gail nodded, not sure where Holly was going with this.

'Which means you get to burden me with stuff okay. Because I'll burden you with my stuff too. That's just the way it works. Otherwise I can't do this.'

'Okay', Gail said quietly, knowing she deserved that.

Chloe greeted Gail with a hug.

'Uhh, you know Chloe, not really the way I communicate', Gail said, 'And apparently I stink', but Chloe ignored her and Holly laughed.

'I'm so sorry about Steve. Andy said to say she was thinking of you and sent these flowers', said Chloe pointing to a vase of brightly colored gerbera daisies, 'and Chris said he's off work for the next couple of days and can come sit with you at the hospital if you need company. Oh, and Frankie asked if she should warn off any of the inmates at the prison'.

Gail felt overwhelmed. 'Oh, that's', she paused and bit her bottom lip, 'that's really nice'. Then hurriedly added 'I'm going to take a shower'.

'Okay, dinner will be ready in about half an hour'.

…...

Gail heard the shower screen open and then Holly was behind her, reaching for the soap.

'What are you doing?' Gail asked as Holly gently began to wash her.

'Call yourself a detective. I thought it was obvious. Someone needs to make sure you're clean'.

'Yeah', Gail said, suddenly not feeling at all tired as Holly's soapy hand slid across her breast, stopping to pay particular attention to her nipple. She turned and kissed Holly, gently then with more force as Holly responded, all the while pushing Holly so she was now against the tiled wall. She trailed her hand down Holly's stomach and then between her legs, smiling as her fingertips brushed Holly's clit.

Holly intake of breath was sharp. They shouldn't be doing this. Gail was exhausted. Emotionally drained. But before she could protest, Gail was on her knees before Holly, clearly determined. Holly closed her eyes, anticipating the feel of Gail's tongue, but then nothing happened. Instead Gail exclaimed 'What's this?' and pointed to a small tattoo on Holly's hip. It was of a stylized cat, its back arched.

'Oh, that' Holly said a little shyly.

'Yeah, that, Holly' Gail said, standing so she was facing Holly.

'I got it when you were undercover, so you were sort of always with me, I know its stupid, because I guess it feels like you are always with me anyway, and you're not really a cat and that analogy really was ridiculous but.'

Gail smiled. Holly was rambling so she dealt with it the best way she knew how. She kissed her. Gail couldn't believe it. Holly had always said she would never get a tattoo because it was impossible to choose something she'd be happy to have inked on her flesh for the rest of her life. It seemed like Holly had chosen Gail and it filled Gail with a happiness so huge that she had not thought possible.

As they continued to kiss, Holly moved Gail so she was now against the wall, her thigh between Holly's legs and Holly's hand on her center, the heel of her palm pushing against Gail's clit. She felt Holly place one and then two fingers inside her and begin to thrust, and she knew, despite her tiredness, she was going to come quickly. As she cried out, she heard herself say 'God Holly, I love you'. Had she really said that, Gail wondered.

….

Would Holly have been even more understanding if she knew Gail was drugged and held captive in Vancouver, and if Gail had told her about Perick? She is going to find out eventually.