Two days later, Gail found herself stood in the home of Dr Holly Stewart, waiting to be introduced to the woman who had just flown back from her conference in San Francisco. Gail's new boss, a dour middle aged guy named McGregor, had picked the doctor up at the airport and filled her in on the situation on the way home. Gail and Andy had spent the last two days meeting the team and going through some intensive briefings, so they were also fully up to speed on how things would happen over the next few weeks. She had already plotted the murder of Staff Sergeant McGregor at least twice; the guy was a nit-picker extraordinaire, and Gail just wanted to get on with it. They were currently at an uneasy truce after he had made her run a weapon drill eleven times in a row. Gail snapped and told him she wasn't taking gun handling advice from a professional child minder. She was already missing Frank and Oliver.

Thankfully the other two members of the team from Vancouver seemed ok. Scott Sanderson was a tall, rangy guy with ruffled fair hair and a languid grin plastered permanently across his face. Jacob Chen was quieter, but exuded an air of calm confidence and Gail had already discovered his buzz cut and broad shoulders came with a sharp mind that missed nothing. Also here today was the tech guy, Niall something or other. Gail missed his surname and hadn't bothered to find out when the guy barely said a word all day but had spent three hours busying himself by setting up surveillance equipment round the exterior of Holly's place, and sorting out new encrypted phones for the team.

As Dr Stewart chatted with Andy, Gail noticed McGregor was leaving her introduction till last, and idly wondered if that was consequence of their earlier disagreement. She used the time to study the woman she was about to be spending a lot of time with. Dr Stewart wasn't really what she'd been expecting. She was younger for one thing, about Gail's age and didn't exactly look like a doctor. She had long dark hair that had been swept up and knotted at the back of her head, exposing a slender neck and tanned skin. She was around Gail's height and looked athletic, moving with an assured grace across the room. Gail had assumed she was getting a geeky, spindly little women, with giant glasses and a nervous tic or two. She guessed the stereotypes were wrong sometimes…even if they were amusing.

Dr Stewart also had what Gail could only define as a killer smile. It had been the first thing she'd noticed; when the doctor arrived she had thrown a crooked grin at the welcoming party camped out in her kitchen, and Gail couldn't help it when the corners of her own mouth turned upwards to return the smile. She'd never really understood the term infectious grin before, but the brunette's smile was wide and easy and reached all the way up to sparkle out of her eyes.

Gail's scrutiny was interrupted by McGregor's loud voice. "And this is Officer Peck, another of our local police representatives,"

She nodded a greeting; "Doctor Stewart,"

"It's Holly, please," came the response, the same as it had to all of the other officers in the room. Gail took the hand that was offered, and was pleased to find Holly had a firm handshake. She met the other woman's eyes and noted how dark they were. Holly smiled again, and Gail felt a warmth spread through her before realising she was still holding the doctor's hand. She let go, embarrassed, but Holly didn't appear to have noticed.

"Officer Peck will be partnered with Officer Sanderson on the night shift," McGregor explained, continuing his description of how Holly's life was going to be monitored over the coming weeks.

Gail caught Andy's grimace at this statement, and had to supress a laugh. The team had agreed the shift rota in one of their meetings a couple of days ago. McGregor had detailed they would be working twelve hour shifts, one pair on nights, one on days with McGregor himself dropping in on both shifts and covering each officer's days off. It was a tough schedule, but the Vancouver boys had explained that by the nature of the job, when Holly was safe and secure one of the officers could take a rest even when on shift. When McGregor had asked which of his female officers wanted days, McNally had called it before Gail even managed to open her mouth.

The blonde had been furious about the thought of working non-stop night shifts for the considerable future. But when McGregor had continued to drone on about the arrangements, both Toronto officers realised that Dr Stewart's job would mean the day shift had a few tricky circumstances to navigate. With cops from Fifteen in and out of the labs all day long, it would be difficult to explain why McNally was hanging round there all the time when she had been pulled off the usual shift rota. Either McNally would be spending every day in a surveillance van parked outside the morgue, or they needed a cover story.

Even Chen had winced at the story McGregor had concocted; something about inter-departmental cohesion and building relationships across the law enforcement teams, yadda yadda yadda. The long and short of it was, all of Fifteen thought McNally had been assigned to some crazy PR stunt of shadowing the Forensic Pathologist for a month. She was mortified. The explanation for Gail's absence from shift was easier; the division had simply been told she was on a highly classified undercover assignment that meant she was working away from the station until further notice.

"It's good to meet you all," Holly said, looking round the room and the police all muttered their agreements, feeling a little like strangers pushed together on a table at a wedding. "I'm just going to grab my stuff from the car, then would anyone like tea? Or coffee?" she asked.

McGregor was quickly onto that one, "Officers Peck and Chen will get your luggage, Doctor. We don't want you going outside unless it's strictly necessary,"

Holly blinked in surprise. "Right. I'll make the tea then, I guess," she said.

"Excellent," replied McGregor. "We have a lot to go over, Dr Stewart; your schedule for the coming week, some basic rules, the equipment we've put in place here and a few more things. Peck, Chen – go get Dr Stewart's luggage from the car," he ordered, as he followed Holly into the kitchen area.

Gail rolled her eyes and followed Chen outside. They took a good look around Holly's street as they left the house; now the doctor was home, they were on high alert. Chen popped the trunk of McGregor's sedan and hauled out a suitcase. "Can you get that thing?" he said, pointing at the red case left in the car. Gail scowled, but lifted the case out and pulled the trunk shut.

"What did you think of the doc then?" Jacob asked.

"She seems alright," Gail offered, unsure what to say about someone she had met for about two minutes.

"Friendly. And cheerful,"

"I guess,"

"It won't last," Jacob observed, with a resigned tone to his voice, "Soon enough she'll realise exactly how much we're going to intrude on her life. She'll resent it and fight us all the way,"

"Well you're a little ray of sunshine, Chen," Gail replied, sarcastically.

"I've seen it a million times, Peck," the stocky officer said, as they re-entered the house. "I'll drop your stuff upstairs Dr Stewart!" he yelled through to where Holly was sat with McGregor in the kitchen, before stomping up the stairs.

"Thank you! And it's Holly!" she shouted back at him.

McGregor leant over and spoke in a conspiratorial tone that Gail only just overheard, "It's probably better if the team refers to you by your title, Dr Stewart. It keeps things professional," he told the surprised woman.

Gail snickered at the look of confusion on Holly's face. McGregor really was full of it. "Where do want your lunchbox, Holly?" she called out, using her name deliberately.

"My what?" Holly asked, standing up to look at what the officer was holding. She grinned, and Gail knew she had noticed the intentional use of her given name.

"Your lunchbox," Gail reiterated, holding the red case above her head.

"It's a forensic evidence kit," Holly told her.

"Right," Gail said, blankly.

"You know, it's got all my tools for work in. Scalpels, hinge lifters, acetate, entomology scales, UV light, evidence bags, desiccant packs…"

God, this woman could talk, Gail thought. She'd have to put a stop to that now, or she would be getting her ear chewed off every shift. "Why are you saying all these words?" Gail asked, expecting the other woman to shirk away from her pretence of weary disinterest, delivered in a practised deadpan tone.

However, Holly simply raised an eyebrow and shot straight back; "Wow. Someone's not up on their medical jurisprudence,"

Gail's jaw dropped, and she gave a small shake of the head. She felt a tinge of annoyance at being outwitted, but as quickly as it came, the feeling disappeared and was replaced by one of amusement and respect. This doctor was going to be a pain in the ass, she knew it. Yet something inside her was insisting that she somehow liked this woman already and it could be interesting getting to know her a bit better. She was surprised at this; Gail Peck wasn't usually concerned with getting to know people. Anyway, whatever this strange thought was, she certainly wasn't going to let the doc see that she had secretly enjoyed their snappy exchange. "Whatever, Nerd," she replied, casually.

"Officer Peck!" McGregor growled, shocked at the childish insult, and Gail heard Andy snort from her position perched on the sofa. But Holly laughed and waved it away.

"It's fine. I keep my kit just down there near the front door…?" she gestured in the relevant direction and trailed off the end of her statement to turn it into a question as she looked at Gail.

The blonde caught her meaning, and supplied the answer, "Gail. Gail Peck,"

"Thanks, Gail," Holly said, before turning her attention back to McGregor's list of do's and don'ts and ignoring the man's look of irritation at the exchange of names.

The tech guy chose that moment to say his first words in several hours, coughing to get their attention. "Right. I'm all done. New phones are on the kitchen counter, they're all programmed. The equipment is set up; cameras, motion sensors, microphones and alarms..."

"Cameras?" Holly interjected.

"All round the perimeter," McGregor explained, "and internal ones like that one above the door," He pointed at the small black camera screwed into the wall above the door.

"I don't think I'm very comfortable with having cameras in my home, Sergeant McGregor," Holly said with a frown. Gail felt a nudge in her back and heard Chen whisper, "Here it comes!"

"I assure you that they are necessary, Dr Stewart, and they will assist us to protect you," the older man said.

Holly turned to look at the camera hovering above her front door before rounding back to face McGregor. "I understand you have a job to do, but I really don't see how filming my house and yard is going to help?"

McGregor looked aggrieved at being argued with but at that point, Sanderson chose to intervene. "Holly, it's not our intention to invade your privacy or your home, believe me," he said sincerely. "The cameras outside help us to monitor any activity, so we can keep these four walls as safe as possible. I'm sorry, but this situation is going to disrupt your life and there's no way round that. We want to minimise the disruption though. So if we put all this stuff outside and focus on the boundary, we can make sure your home is completely safe and that you can relax here, no matter what else goes on in the day. Is that ok?"

Holly considered that explanation for a moment but then nodded, appreciating the young officer's honesty and earnestness.

Sanderson smiled, and offered a small concession; "The ones inside are just a last resort really. You'll have an officer here at all times. We could agree to only turn them on when you're out and at night?"

"Where are they all?" Holly asked, suspiciously.

"In all the rooms downstairs, but nothing upstairs. We don't want to violate your personal space," McGregor assured her.

"And you'll keep them off when I'm at home?" Holly repeated Sanderson's offer, wanting to be sure.

McGregor and Sanderson both nodded vigorously.

"Alright then. Thank you," Holly agreed and the older officer visibly relaxed.

"Ok, so that's settled. Now, let's get organised for tonight people. Niall, can you show these four the surveillance van set up before you leave please? Sanderson, then I want you to walk Peck and McNally through a perimeter check – familiarise yourselves with the place. Dr Stewart, you and I have a couple more things to look at here and then I'll let you get on with your evening," McGregor listed their orders clearly, and the group stood and followed the tech guy out of the door.

An hour or so later, Gail was sat at the kitchen island with Sanderson. Chen and McNally had left for the day, and McGregor was outside manning the surveillance van. Sanderson was regaling Gail with some ridiculous story of using a tech van to chase a suspect through Vancouver, which she wasn't sure whether to believe or not. They were interrupted by both their phones buzzing on the surface in front of them. Gail frowned; nobody had the number apart from the team, and it was unlikely one of them would ring already.

Scott picked up his phone and read the display. "Looks like the Doc is on the phone. Want to listen in?" he asked.

"What?" Gail asked.

"Listen to the call. Push the usual accept button, and you'll be linked in to her phone. Don't forget to mute yours though,"

"What!?" she asked again, "We can do that?"

"Sure. Weren't you listening to the tech brief?" Scott grinned.

"No. I'm not an IT geek," Gail said with an incredulous stare.

"Yeah I could tell by the way you crashed the computer in the van earlier. Anyway you didn't think these were just regular phones, did you? They've got a few extra features. And Holly's phone is bugged and linked into ours. Whoever is on shift can pick up her calls as they come through," he explained.

"Isn't that kind of unethical?" she questioned, feeling uneasy about invading Holly's privacy like that. The doctor was upstairs, unpacking after her trip.

Scott shrugged. "Some of the best intelligence we get on these assignments is from the subjects themselves,"

"So that big speech earlier about minimising disruptions was complete bullshit," she stated, cynically.

"No. I meant the sentiment, just glossed over the reality a little. But sometimes you've just got to tell a lady what she needs to hear," he replied, with a wink. Gail shook her head at him, still a little taken aback by some of the power they now had over this woman's life.

"Well, I'm listening in," Scott told her, picking up his phone. "Because you can bet your ass McGregor will be, so we may as well hear it first hand,"

Gail frowned, but curiosity got the better of her so she collected her phone and pressed the accept call button before muting her handset. She raised her eyebrows when she realised she could hear both sides of the conversation, exactly as if she was on the call herself. She and Sanderson must have missed the beginning of Holly's conversation whilst they were discussing the morals of eavesdropping. It seemed as though Holly had filled her friend in on her current situation.

"But why?"

"Lis, I told you I can't say,"

"So you have a house full of cops, twenty four seven but you won't tell me why? Is it to do with a case?"

"Um...kind of,"

"Well are you safe?"

"That's really the point of police protection,"

"Don't be smart with me, Holly. If you're in trouble because of that damn job of yours, I want to know,"

"Look, I'll be fine. This is a precaution more than anything. Don't worry!"

"You'd better be. Honestly, this is what I've been saying about this pathology obsession of yours. You should have gone into plastics with me. I don't get any of this shit,"

"Don't start Lisa. I've had a pretty stressful day."

Gail could hear the weariness in Holly's voice. It sounded like this was a common argument between her and her friend.

"Hmm. But you know I'm right. So, what are they like, these cops that are going to be stalking you? Because from what I know of cops, they're all arrogant assholes. I couldn't hang out with them, that's for sure."

Gail and Sanderson both pulled a face at that statement. Gail had never met this Lisa woman, obviously, but after thirty seconds of hearing her drone on, she already knew she didn't like her. Why on earth Holly was friends with someone like this, she had no idea.

"Lisa! I work with cops every day don't forget. Ninety nine percent of them are great. And this bunch seem like good people, I think we'll be ok. Actually, one of them is kinda hot too..."

At that, Scott grinned and preened comically for Gail, pouting his lips and flexing his muscles. Gail shoved him off his bar stool. "She's probably talking about Chen, you idiot," she hissed.

"That bowling ball head? No way. Besides, Jakey boy is married and I am young, free and single!" Scott declared. Gail rolled her eyes and tuned back into Holly's conversation. Her friend Lisa was giggling.

"Holly Stewart telling me someone is hot! Well it's about time you got back into the dating game! You have been single for far too long!"

"I am not getting back into the dating game Lisa!"

"Why not? Ask them out!"

"I can't hit on one of my protection detail! That would be beyond tragic,"

"I've known you meet people in stranger circumstances..."

"Right, I am hanging up on you before you start dissecting my exes,"

"At least one of them should have been dissected. But fine, you can tell me about this hot cop of yours tomorrow night. Still on for dinner?"

"Ah, about that. I might not be allowed out to play tomorrow. I've already asked the boss man about it, and he says I can't come,"

"What? But we always do Foo Garden Chinese food on Wednesdays!"

"Exactly. Apparently I have too many routines. And that's not safe,"

"Fucking hell Holly. That is ridiculous!"

"I know, but I'm working on it!"

"Well even if you can't do tomorrow, you'd better be coming out next week. Rachel's birthday, remember? You can't miss that,"

"I'll try. I haven't mentioned that yet,"

"Be there, or I will come and bust you out of Holly jail myself"

"Ha! Ok, John Dillinger. I'm going. Speak to you later in the week,"

Gail and Scott put down their phones as Holly said goodbye to her friend.

"So much for your theory, Sanderson. Not much intelligence there," Gail stated, grimacing at the other officer.

Scott simply grinned, nodded his head a few times in a cocky fashion and pointed at his own chest. "Hot cop!" he said, happily.

Gail pointed at him too. "Idiot," she said again, before getting up and going in search of coffee. As she turned away from Scott however, she smiled a little. She couldn't help but like the guy, goofy though he was and was glad she had been partnered with someone it seemed she could get on with. Coupled with the fact that Holly also seemed cool, Gail decided this babysitting gig could be better than she thought it was going to be.