Twenty four hours later, Gail decided she had probably spoken a little too soon. Holly had lost her battle with McGregor over her weekly Chinese with her friends, and she wasn't too thrilled about staying in. Scott and Gail had thought she'd gotten over it when she had told them she was going to cook instead, but another argument had ensued when Holly told them she had to go to the store to pick up a few things. Sanderson had asked her to write a list and one of them would go instead, but Holly had insisted she wanted to go.

"Scott, this is crazy. It's a ten minute trip to buy a few things. What's the worst that can happen?"

"I'm sorry, but no can do. Either one of us go for you, or we all go, which will be a longer job because Gail and I will have to clear the area before we can let you out of the car," Sanderson explained.

"Come on!" Holly replied, clearly getting frustrated. "I don't need two police officers to take me to the store!"

"It's early days yet. We don't know exactly how much of a threat you're under, so to start with we have to be ultra careful,"

"At the store?" Holly asked.

"Everywhere," was Sanderson's simple reply.

Gail watched the exchange with interest. Holly was being polite for now, but she could sense the irritation building. She was quite up for a trip to the store, if nothing else it would be a chance to give some of the moves they'd practised over the past couple of days a whirl. She also kind of agreed with Holly; how much danger could there be right now? Holly had only just returned from San Francisco, anyone following her would have made a move there and if they were planning on Toronto, then they would surely need a few days to get ready. But Sanderson was playing exactly by McGregor's rules; no trips out unless absolutely necessary.

"So am I going to be a prisoner in my own home until this damn trial?" Holly demanded.

"No. But I've got to be honest – you'll be spending more time here that you're used to," Sanderson said gently.

"Great. Wonderful!" said Holly, slamming the mug she was holding down into the sink. She pulled a magnetic notepad and pen from the fridge and started scrawling a shopping list as she muttered under her breath.

Sanderson caught Gail's eye and gave her a rueful grimace and a shrug. The boys from Vancouver had warned Gail how people under protection often fought against it. Gail could understand that completely, she would hate to have every moment scrutinized. It was how she had felt in her rookie days; everyone at the station was watching and following her every move, just to see the Peck kid come unstuck. She shrugged at Sanderson, and motioned at him to continue talking to Holly. Sanderson mouthed a sarcastic thank you, before approaching Holly and propping himself next to where she was leant against the kitchen island, writing her list.

"Look, I'm sorry about this, I really am. But our job is to keep you safe. That's all we want and I'm sure that's what your sister would want too," he said.

Holly rounded on him immediately. "Don't tell me what Kate wants. You've never even met her! Who knows what she wants, because nobody has spoken to her since she went into hiding!"

"And that's all about keeping her safe. She knew that. It's too bad that you've got caught up in this as well, but she couldn't help it and she would want us to protect you," Sanderson tried to persuade Holly, but it seemed the mention of her sister had only increased her anger.

Holly stood up straight to face Sanderson, dropping the pen on the counter where it fell to the floor with a clatter. "Oh really? Let's ask her. Ring her, Scott. Because actually, I would really like to talk to her!"

"You know we can't do that. She's deep undercover; I don't know where and even if I did, you couldn't contact her," Sanderson told her, keeping his voice level. However, Gail could see the tension in his shoulders.

"Yeah I know. But all that means to me is that for all we know, my sister could be dead by now because these psychopaths might have found out where you guys took her. So watching me get my groceries from the store could be a complete waste of time; if she's dead, there is no trial. And you won't be worried about my safety then, will you?" Holly's voice cracked slightly as she spoke about the danger her sister was in.

Gail noticed the how upset the other woman was getting, and decided to step in.

"Your sister is fine, Doc," she drawled from her seat at the table and both Sanderson and Holly turned to look at her.

"How can you possibly know that?" Holly asked in a frustrated tone. "No contact, that's your rule!"

"Because you're right. If something happens to your sister, then there is no trial and you're not under threat any more. We would be pulled out of here quicker than you could pack your lunchbox. As long as we're here, you can bet that your sister is fine. If we leave then yep, it's probably not good news for Kate," Gail explained, with what she thought was reassuring logic.

Holly stared at her, the blonde officer's words settling like a lead weight in her chest. She wasn't happy about having the police here, but if them leaving meant that Kate had been hurt, then she couldn't bear to think of it. She felt the tears stinging at her eyes as the frustration and worry of the situation overwhelmed her. Holly turned back towards the kitchen island and slid the notepad sideways to Sanderson.

"There's your list. I'll be upstairs," she said, pushing past the sandy haired guy and virtually running up the stairs to escape the two officers.

Gail and Sanderson watched her go and the kitchen fell silent for a beat before Sanderson's voice broke the tension.

"Well, that was a little insensitive,"

Gail looked at him incredulously. "What?" she asked.

"You pretty much told her we're only here till her sister gets killed," Sanderson pointed out, cocking his head toward Gail and wincing.

"I was trying to help!" Gail defended herself, though now that Scott mentioned it, she probably could have worded her reassurances a little better.

"Yeah, way to go," Sanderson said.

"Get lost, Sanderson. You weren't exactly doing a sterling job either,"

Sanderson laughed. "Thanks pal! It's good to know my team mates are there for support and encouragement!"

Gail frowned at him, and raised her fist in the air. "Go team," she said sarcastically.

"Anyway," Sanderson said, and he grabbed the list from the surface in front of him. "You've got some shopping to do,"

"I don't think so," Gail replied, lifting her eyebrows.

"I'm the senior officer here!" Sanderson said, as if that settled the matter.

"We're the same rank,"

"Yeah but you've never done protection before. So that makes me senior,"

"I don't think so," she repeated. "But if you were, with your skills, you'll make an easy transition to personal shopper,"

"Rock, paper, scissors?" he asked, holding out his fist towards Gail.

She grinned. She was a champion rock, paper, scissors player. It was all in the mind. Gail extended her fist too, and they counted to three in unison before making their move.

"Yeah!" Gail exulted, as her scissors beat Sanderson's paper.

He pouted and whined something about best of three, but Gail was feeling far too smug to bother with beating him again.

"Fine. But I'm shotgunning the van tonight then! I'm not staying in the house now you've upset the doc!" Sanderson told her. He grabbed his coat and keys, picked up the list and made his way out of the door before Gail could reply.

Whatever, she thought. It was clear Sanderson didn't have a girlfriend...if he had been used to being around women, he'd know that Holly would likely shut herself up in her room this evening and whoever was in the house wouldn't have to bear the brunt of her misery anyway. And van duty sucked!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the time this assignment was finished, one thing was for certain thought Gail. She was going to be the world champion of Spider Solitaire. She swiped across her phone, flipping the cards over once more. Gail had been sat at the kitchen island for the last couple of hours, give or take fifteen minutes worth of perimeter checks and security walks around the house. Sanderson had been to the store and back, and he was currently tucked away in the surveillance van. Every half hour or so he'd radio through and annoy Gail with his inane chatter but that was the only distraction she'd had apart from this stupid card game. There had been no sign of Holly but just as Gail ran out of moves on her latest game, a creak on the stairs alerted her that someone was present.

She swung round, and saw Holly walking slowly down the staircase. Gail watched her silently, trying to gauge the doctor's mood.

"Hey," Holly said as she came to a halt on the bottom step.

"Hi," Gail replied. She started at the other woman, noticing that she had washed the makeup from her face and tied her hair back. Neither action hid the slight red tinge round her eyes. Holly ran her fingers back and forth over the top of the newel post at the bottom of her staircase, and avoided Gail's eyes for a beat. She sighed and then looked straight at the police officer.

"I owe you an apology. You and Scott," she said.

"Yeah you do," Gail answered, not wanting to make this easy. She got why Holly was pissed off, but none of this was her or Sanderson's fault.

Holly nodded, acknowledging Gail's directness. She came over to sit next to the cop. "I'm sorry. You guys are just doing your job, and you don't need me giving you hassle,"

"Tell that to Sanderson, not me. You were yelling at him," Gail shrugged.

"I will. But I need to apologise to you too. Like I say, you're just doing your job and I really appreciate that you're watching out for me. I of all people know what a great job the police service do; I see it every day. And there's nothing worse than when members of the public are causing you trouble when you're trying to keep them safe," Holly said.

"None of us want to stop you living your life you know," Gail told her. "But you're going to have to get over the fact you can't always do what you want during this situation,"

"I know. I was just frustrated. I'm not used to having people telling me what to do. Today was hard; I couldn't do my morning run, I had Jacob fetching my lunch and telling me where I could go in the lab, I couldn't go for dinner with my friends and then when Scott said I couldn't go to the store, I just flipped. I'm sorry and it won't happen again," Holly promised.

"Yeah well it had better not. Because Sanderson is a nice guy, but I'm a bitch and believe me I'll yell right back at you," Gail said, expecting Holly to shirk away from her threat.

However, the brunette just looked steadily back at her, meeting the fierce glare. "Fair enough," Holly agreed, and the two women nodded their mutual understanding of one another.

"Apology accepted then," Gail said, "Are we done here?"

Holly studied the other woman and smiled slightly. "You're kind of blunt, you know that?" she asked, a little taken aback at being so casually dismissed after her sincere apology.

"Yeah. I am," was Gail's simple reply. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head slightly, not seeing why Holly thought that was a problem.

"I thought that earlier too, when you were talking about my sister," Holly told her.

Ah, thought Gail, that's why. "Yeah, about that. I maybe could have been a little more tactful there," she attempted to justify her earlier frankness, squirming a little under Holly's gaze.

"It's fine. I appreciated your honesty actually," Holly replied. "McGregor keeps telling me that I'll be fine and so will Kate and my parents. At least you didn't make promises you can't keep,"

"No. I wouldn't promise you that. But I know there's a lot of people that will do their best to make all that happen," Gail stated.

"Thanks, Gail," Holly smiled and she reached over to squeeze Gail's forearm. Gail looked down at where Holly's hand rested on her, unsure what to make of someone who invaded one's personal space so readily. At least Holly hadn't gone for the hug. That was a bit much from someone she'd know for two years, let alone two days. The brief gesture was soon over though, as Holly got up and clapped her hands together.

"So, dinner? Did you guys pick up my list?" she asked.

"Yeah. Sanderson put it all in the fridge," Gail told her.

"Great thanks," Holly replied, strolling over to the fridge. She threw the door open and Gail could hear her muttering away to herself as she sorted through the contents. Gail got up and cleared her throat slightly to get the other woman's attention.

"So, I'll just be in the other room. Let you get on with things," she told Holly.

Holly stuck her head around the refrigerator door. "What?" she asked.

"I'll be out there. Out of your way," Gail said, waving a thumb in the direction of the living room.

"You can sit where you like, Gail. Don't move on my account," she replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Gail caught the puzzled look and thought Holly was trying to be polite. "Don't worry. We don't want to hang around you all the time when you're in your own place. McGregor says that we should stay in the background, so that you feel more comfortable. You can just pretend we're not here," she explained.

To her surprise, Holly laughed at that. "Gail, if you guys are going to be in my home then I don't need you skulking around in the corners, that won't make me 'more comfortable'" she said, waving the air quotes with her fingers as she tossed ingredients out on to the bench. She gathered some more things and then shut the fridge door with her foot. "When you're here, you're a guest. It's fine. Stick around...you can even help cook if you like?"

"Yeah...no. I'm not much of a chef. I'd ruin your dinner," Gail told her truthfully. She frowned, not sure whether to take Holly up on the offer to sit with her in the kitchen. She didn't like McGregor's instructions about staying out the way, as this assignment looked like it was going to be boring enough as it is without tiptoeing around somebody else's house. But equally she didn't want to spend her evenings making idle chit chat with someone she barely knew. That wasn't really her thing. And it seemed Holly was a talker.

"Our dinner," Holly corrected. "And that's fine, you're on washing up duty then,"

That sentence jarred Gail out of her musings. She had been debating whether she could be bothered to sit and have a conversation with the other woman, and yet here Holly was offering to cook for her. Damn these nice people. "You don't have to cook for me, Holly," she said, pushing aside the guilt.

"Like I say, you're a guest. And why cook for one when there's plenty to go round?" Holly replied easily as she started to chop the vegetables.

Gail smiled her thanks. She couldn't exactly go and hide somewhere else if Holly was cooking for her. Small talk it was then, she decided. But she'd better to take a few minutes to prepare herself for that. Holly might seem easy to talk to, but it was only a matter of time before Gail pissed her off. "Ok. I've got to do a quick perimeter check, then I'll be back. Don't run off," she said, retreating towards the door.

"Yes Boss!" Holly called after her with a mock salute.

Once she had done her perimeter check – and found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary – Gail sat herself back on the stool at Holly's kitchen island and watched the other woman sort out a quick pasta dish. She observed in silence however, unsure of how to start up the small talk she had committed to earlier.

Holly gave the sauce a practised stir, and turned over the chicken in the pan. She wiped her hands on a tea towel and stepped back from the stove, content to leave everything on the go for a few minutes. She looked up and saw Gail watching her. The two women held each others' gaze for a moment, before Gail looked away.

"My sister isn't a bad person you know," Holly said quietly.

Gail lifted her head to meet Holly's eyes again. "Nobody said she was,"

Holly sighed. "I know. But you all think it. You've read her file, right?" she asked.

Gail shrugged, not sure whether she should admit that she had. Kate Stewart's file was part of the case briefing – as was Holly's. The doctor's bio read like a model citizen; full of academic achievements, career success and glowing personal endorsements. Her younger sister's profile wasn't quite as shining however. Kate had been something of a wild child, with a few petty cautions for drunken escapades and one for possession. She had had numerous jobs, had lived all over the place and was forever in minor debt. Gail's impression had been that the young woman was a bit of a drifter rather than genuine trouble, but rap sheets never told the whole story about someone.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Holly. "The thing is, everyone who knows about this situation thinks the same thing...how did she get herself into that mess? How did she get let herself get fooled into thinking Martin was a good guy – and when she knew he wasn't, why did she stick around?" Holly stood there, mindlessly folding and refolding the towel and Gail could virtually see the cogs whirring around her mind.

"Sounds to me like you've been giving those questions a bit of thought yourself," she said perceptively, watching Holly carefully. The brunette bristled at first, as if she was going to argue but then took a deep breath and settled herself.

"A little bit," she admitted. "See, Kate and I aren't really alike. She's a dreamer, you know? She bounces from job to job, usually little hippy cafes or bars and she finds the new love of her life every few months. Then when it ends, she's utterly heartbroken and swears off love forever, until the next one appears," Holly laughed. "I'm not that idealistic, I guess,"

Gail nodded, letting Holly continue her story. She sensed the doctor needed to get this off her chest.

"She might be a dreamer but she isn't stupid and she isn't a crook. When this all broke, the cops interviewed me and they asked me over and over why Kate didn't realise Martin was bad news earlier. They thought she was in on it to start with. But she wasn't. She just got caught up with the wrong guy, and then was too scared to do anything about it," Holly said, leaning back against the kitchen counter and swilling a beer round the bottom of the bottle.

"We've all been there," Gail murmured, thinking back through some of her own disasters.

"I just want you to know that it wasn't her fault. Because I know you don't want to be here, protecting me when you could be doing your real job. And it's because of Kate you have to, so I can imagine what you think of her. When she first told me everything that had happened I couldn't understand it either. Why she hadn't gone running the first time he hit her, or the first time she heard something dodgy. But it's not because she's stupid, or weak. She just got overwhelmed. And she never asked for help," Holly shook her head sadly, and Gail could see that the fact her sister didn't come to her when she was in trouble hurt her.

"I don't think she's stupid or weak. I think she is incredibly brave. She's going to put a lot of dangerous people behind bars with what she's doing, and you should be proud of her," Gail said, sincerely.

Holly met the police officer's eyes and searched for any hint of guile in that statement but Gail stared straight back, her blue eyes clear and steady.

"I am," she stated strongly. "I met him, you know. I met Robak a few times when he was dating my sister and I never saw it at first. I can't say we got on like a house on fire but I didn't dislike him either. He just seemed like an average guy." Holly trailed off, going over her feelings from all those months ago.

"I've met a lot of criminals, Holly. I've met psychopaths and petty thieves and honestly, with a few exceptions, there's not usually any way of telling them from everyone else," Gail said, thinking back to a few signs she had missed over the years and grimacing at the thought.

"I should have seen it though. Not from the start maybe, but when he started to hurt Kate, I should have noticed. I'm a doctor for fuck's sake," Holly said, her voice betraying the anger she felt. She chugged back the rest of her beer, and placed the bottle on the side with a little too much force, judging by the loud noise it made. "I didn't notice till I had to pick her up from the hospital with a broken nose. And then I pleaded with her to walk out on him, but she didn't. Every time he touched her after that I lost the plot with her, telling her she had to leave. But the more I argued, the more she pushed me away and then it got to the point where she wouldn't tell me anything. Not until she ended up in the domestic violence shelter. I should have supported her more..."

"It's not your fault either Holly Stewart," Gail said clearly. "It's not Kate's fault she got hurt and it isn't yours you didn't know. It's Martin Robak's and he is going to pay for it when he goes to jail,"

"I hope so," Holly mused. "That guy has done some awful things,"

Gail looked hard at Holly, noticing the shudder that passed through her. She had been told that Holly wasn't involved at all in the case, but judging by her reaction, she knew something of Robak's business. "Holly? How much did Kate tell you about Robak?" she asked.

The shadow that passed across Holly's face as she met Gail's eyes was the clue, but Holly paused for a moment or two before answering in a low voice, "Everything. A couple of months before he beat her half to death for the last time, she told me everything she knew,"

It was Gail's turn to shudder. If Holly knew all the details of Robak and Kolarov's dealings, then that could only increase the threat against her. The gang wouldn't go after her solely to silence Kate, but also to tie up another loose end. "Who knows that she told you?" she asked.

"Just the police. I had to be interviewed too. When Kate told me, she said I was the insurance policy. She was scared that Martin would kill her and she hadn't been to the police yet. I wanted to go, but she swore me to secrecy," Holly told her.

Some insurance policy, thought Gail. Anything Holly had heard from Kate would be inadmissible in court as it would be classed as hearsay, but if Kolarov's gang found out their secrets were spread wider, they might decide the close the loop just in case. However Gail decided to leave her thoughts unsaid, as Holly took a deep breath, stepping forward to poke aimlessly at the dish cooking on the stove. It seemed Holly knew exactly why the knowledge she possessed could be a dangerous thing.

"You must be pretty close with your sister," Gail said, sticking to less worrying topics.

Holly wrinkled her nose and made a noise that could mean yes or no. "We were. Growing up we were always close, but I think as adults we maybe grew apart a bit. Like I say, we're different people. I always wanted her to decide on what she doing and where she was going and she would always tell me to chill out," she laughed and shook her head at some personal memory before asking Gail "What about you? Have you got sisters or brothers?"

"A brother. He's older. He's a cop too," Gail told her.

"Are you close?"

"He's a dick," Gail said shortly and rolled her eyes, but when she saw Holly look a little taken aback at her less than flattering description of Steve she had to elaborate. "We've got each other's backs. I don't see a lot of him, considering we almost work together, but he watches out for me. He helps me avoid my Mom at least," she explained, which made Holly laugh. "Steve's the golden boy though, whereas I'm the black sheep so you know, he can't hang out with me too much in case I drag him down to my level,"

Holly's amusement disappeared and she looked pensive once more. "I sometimes wonder if Kate feels like that. She once said that I was a lot to live up to. I worry that's maybe why she stuck with Martin for so long. It was the first time I'd seen her with a decent job, and our parents were so pleased for her,"

"You worry too much, Lunchbox," Gail said, with feeling. "Not everything is your fault you know. You might be a hot shot doc, but it doesn't all revolve round you,"

Holly's jaw dropped, and she blinked in surprise. "Thanks, Gail!" she said, sarcastically, throwing the tea towel at her.

"Just calling it like I see it," Gail shrugged.

"Yeah, don't I know it Miss No-Nonsense," Holly replied, her eyes wide at being called out like that. She had been turning over what had happened to get Kate into this mess in her mind for weeks, and the more she thought about, the more upset she was that her sister hadn't asked for help earlier. And then anger had turned to guilt, dragging up everything from their childhood, all those tests she'd passed and Kate had flunked, all the times she'd had to pull her sister out of trouble. She'd started to believe that her success had put too much pressure on her younger sister, but with one sentence, Gail had shown her how ridiculous that assumption was.

Holly was already learning that the cop wasn't one for the social niceties of holding back but she also realised that it wasn't arrogance that made her be so blunt. Gail was very perceptive when she cut through a conversation like she just had. Although Holly also sensed she used her frankness to protect herself – attack is the best form of defence after all. She watched the blonde swing her barstool gently from side to side, tapping her fingers against the surface of the kitchen island and noticed the fixed stare and the set shoulders. "You're right," Holly said suddenly, catching the other woman's attention. Gail grinned and nodded, but the smile fell at Holly's next words, "But that also means that maybe your brother isn't responsible for the chip on your shoulder,"

"I don't have a chip on my shoulder," Gail immediately responded, denying the accusation.

"Family dynamics, hey?" Holly shrugged off her own assertion with an easy smile that immediately defused Gail's irritation. "They're funny. Who'd have siblings, given the choice?" she joked.

"Not me," Gail grouched, and they both smiled at each other for a moment until Gail broke the silence. "But only children? They're weird people, right?"

Holly laughed at the look of suspicion on Gail's face, and flicked off the heat under the pans. "Definitely," she agreed, and began to serve up dinner.