A/N Thanks for the reviews and messages people, it's much appreciated.

So, Gail may have been clued in on a couple of things, but let's face it - she's still a bit lost. She can't even figure out her own feelings, let alone tell what Holly might be thinking. And Holly's going out tonight...who knows what will happen!?

Fair warning - this is the longest chapter yet. It kind of has two distinct scenes, but they just seemed to fit together so I left it as is...

Cheers,

Sam

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The incessant ringing finally woke Gail out of her deep sleep and she groaned as she stretched over to grab her phone. She blindly stabbed a finger at the bottom corner of the screen in an attempt to hit the snooze option, and flopped her head back down as soon as the noise stopped. As she settled back on her pillow however, she realised that her room still wasn't silent. "What the fuck?" she mumbled as she heard a faint voice saying her name over and over. She grabbed at her phone again and realised it wasn't the alarm that had woken her up but a call. And she'd answered it. She held the phone to her ear and heard McGregor's nasal voice; "Peck? Peck! Are you there?"

Gail winced, feeling far too tired to deal with her cranky new boss right then. "Alright, alright. Stop yelling! I'm here!" she told him, interrupting the flow.

"Ah. Good morning officer," McGregor said, finally lowering his volume. Morning, thought Gail? She risked a glance at the time and smothered her groan when she saw it was only ten thirty. She had only been in bed a couple of hours at most. "We have a situation here Peck, and I need you to come down to the lab," continued the voice on the phone.

"What?" Gail's response was pure reflex as she was still running McGregor's sentence through her brain. She would be the first to admit it took her a while to get going when she had just woken up.

"Lab, Officer Peck! You need to get here ASAP," came the response, McGregor's tone now back towards the tetchy end of the scale.

Gail felt a cold jolt of panic run through her. Something had happened. "Why? Is Holly ok?" she asked urgently.

"Doctor Stewart is fine. But we need you here now, not sitting at home questioning my orders,"

Yep, McGregor was definitely tetchy now. "I'm on my way," Gail said, throwing the bed covers back.

"I'll explain when you get here," and with that, the man put the phone down and cut off the conversation leaving Gail to run round her room pulling on clothes and attempting to get ready in record time.

Half an hour later, Gail jogged through the corridors of the lab looking for Holly and the team. She had been down here before of course, but not since Holly worked there so had no idea where to find the department's newest pathologist. She eventually found them in a small office behind the autopsy room and as she burst through the door and saw Holly sitting behind her desk, looking perfectly fine, she took a deep breath to release the anxiety that she didn't even know she had been carrying. Holly gave her a small smile and a quiet hello, as McNally and Chen also greeted her.

McGregor was less polite and launched into an explanation of why he had called her in. That morning, Chen and McNally had taken Holly straight down to the court as she was due to give preliminary evidence for an inquest into a suspicious death. The hearing had been immediately adjourned however; as the police requested more time to produce some evidence. McNally and Holly had decided to grab a coffee at the courthouse café, leaving Chen waiting outside. As they sat down, McNally spotted a guy watching them carefully and had immediately been suspicious. He seemed to be paying Holly a lot of attention, then once they had finished their coffee and made their move to leave, he also got up. McNally had played it cool, keeping a surreptitious eye on the man whilst hustling Holly towards the exit. Sure enough, the guy had followed them through the courthouse. McNally dragged Holly into the ladies room for five minutes and called Chen. He snuck into the building and saw the guy propped up against a pillar, hiding out and waiting for the women to leave the restroom. Chen agreed with McNally's assessment; whoever he was, this man was clearly watching Holly. Without knowing who else was around, they decided against confronting him, instead falling back of the main priority of a protection officer – keeping their ward safe. They carried out a fast and effective hot extraction; rushing Holly through the courthouse, into Chen's double parked sedan right out front and drove her straight here, knowing how secure the police buildings were. Chen was pretty sure they had been followed all the way by a small dark Mercedes, so had called McGregor straight away. The sergeant met them at the lab, but not before carrying out a little reconnaissance work of his own, circling the block and spotting the Mercedes parked up in a side street, two men inside.

"So, in short Officer Peck, we are on high alert," McGregor summarised. "This is the first clear threat we have had against Dr Stewart in our time here and we need to treat it seriously,"

Gail nodded, not liking the sound of the word threat. She glanced at Holly, who looked a little nervous, but ok. "What do we do?" she asked, straightening up and squaring her shoulders. She was ready to protect Holly, whatever it took.

"We've boosted our numbers by calling you in," Chen said. "Now we have enough people to keep the Doc here under wraps, and go and check out these guys properly," he added with a grin.

McGregor frowned at the younger officer's air of exuberance. "We've called in the local police division to assist; a squad car is on the way. So far we have simply reported it as suspicious behaviour. Officer Chen and I will go and meet them and then deal with the suspects. You and Officer McNally will stay with Dr Stewart and keep her under your guard," he shared his plan with the rest of the team, gazing at each of them in turn as if daring them to argue.

Gail opened her mouth to do just that, but Andy stopped her with a shake of the head, "Fifteen are on the way, we can't go," she told the blonde. Gail pulled a face, mainly at the fact she couldn't do something a little more proactive and face these guys who were following Holly, but also because Andy had known exactly what she was thinking.

"I want you to be extra vigilant," McGregor told them, "This building is secure, and I have alerted security to not allow visitors unless they show police ID or talk to me specifically. But both of you need to be alert at all times, and stay with Dr Stewart. This is not the usual 'one in proximity, one on perimeter' protocol, am I clear?"

Both officers nodded their agreement, though privately Gail thought it was going to look very strange when all three of them went to the bathroom together. Soon after, Chen and McGregor left to go and meet the squad car from Fifteen.

"I'll call you when we're on the way back, so you know to expect us," Chen told me on his way out.

"Call Gail, Jake," Andy yelled after him. "My phone isn't working!"

Holly unexpectedly chuckled at that, and Gail gave her a quizzical look. "Andy dropped her phone in the bathroom earlier," Holly told her.

"That was going to be our secret Doc," Andy hissed as the blush rose from her neck.

Gail had to laugh as well. For such an athletic woman, McNally sure could be a klutz. "You smashed the new phone? Nice going," she said as she moved across the office to shut the door behind the boys.

"I didn't smash it!" Andy denied the accusation.

"It took a bit of bath…" Holly said in a stage whisper and Gail snickered delightedly.

"Oh shut up, the pair of you" Andy told them.

"Don't worry McNally. I'll make sure I call that techie dude and tell him exactly what happened, I'm sure they can sort out a replacement," Gail said airily and she had to admit she enjoyed the filthy look Andy threw at her.

Gail pushed the door shut and stood with her back to it. She eyed McNally's position on the opposite side of the room near the small window and decided it was good enough. Gail noticed McNally was doing her own assessment of their set up and must have come to the same conclusion as she gave Gail a small nod. Both officers turned their gaze to where Holly was sat behind her desk and the woman in question returned their stares openly. A few moments passed in silence, then Holly shrugged and picked up a file from the edge of her desk. "Guess I'll get back to the paperwork then," she said, flipping it open and picking up a pen.

Gail and Andy exchanged glances again, but neither replied. They both continued to watch Holly, with Andy occasionally turning her head to glance out the window and Gail keeping an eye on the small section of corridor she could see through the tiny pane of glass in the office door.

Barely five minutes had passed when Holly broke the silence; "You're both worried," she stated, without looking up from her work.

The sentence hung like a lead weight in the room, and the flat tone of her voice dared either officer to deny it. Andy lifted her eyebrows and took the bait. "We're not worried," she said firmly.

"You are. I can tell. You're both standing there in your cop stance; all stiff and with your hands folded behind your back, or grabbing your jacket," Holly pointed first at Andy who hastily relaxed her arms to her sides and then Gail who simply looked down to where her hands were lightly gripping the lapels of her leather jacket.

"I just like standing like this. It's comfortable," Andy defended herself.

"It's a cop thing. You all stand like that. Trust me, I've been on enough crime scenes to notice," Holly told her.

Her attention was taken by Gail, who deliberately unhooked her fingers from her jacket and strolled across the room to take a seat on one of the soft chairs that were crammed into the corner of Holly's office. "It's because of the belt," she explained lightly, "When you're on patrol in uniform you can't hang your arms down by your side because you knock against all the kit on your belt. So you fold them behind your back, or tuck them into your vest. It becomes a habit, that's all. Nothing to do with nerves – we probably stand like that at the bar on a night off as well."

Holly considered the logic behind that statement. "You still look worried," she said, even though Gail was seated.

"Are you worried?" the blonde countered.

"No. Should I be?"

"No,"

"Ok then", Holly said with a small smile at Gail. "Now Andy, will you please sit down, you're the only thing making me nervous," she asked, turning to the dark haired officer.

Andy gave another long glance out the window, and couldn't help sneaking a peek through the door too as she moved to the second chair and sat down. She shifted slightly on it so she was facing the door rather than the other occupants of the room. "Why aren't you worried?" she asked. She thought Holly was acting remarkably cool for someone who had only been under an abstract threat for over a week and then had suddenly seen evidence of real trouble.

As she pondered the question, Holly locked her gaze with the clear blue eyes of the other police officer in the room. The steady confidence she found there made her answer easy. "Because you guys are here and are watching out for me. You'll look after me, right?" she asked.

"Sure!" McNally said, trying to put some bravado into her voice, but it was Gail's soft "Of course," that really gave Holly the assurance she wanted.

The women lapsed into silence once more, and Holly picked up her pen to start working again. However, it was a little tricky with Gail asking non-stop questions from her corner. Holly tried to explain what she was doing in short layman's terms, but the more questions Gail asked, the more she got into it and found herself launching into a long explanation of extracting diatoms from a femur.

From the police officer's point of view, she had never seen Holly so animated, not even when they were jousting over a board game. With Holly so absorbed in the conversation, Gail took the opportunity to watch her, only asking another question here and there to prompt her to carry on. She had been keeping an eye of Holy since she had arrived at the lab, but wasn't sure what she was expecting to see. After yesterday's revelation that Holly thought she was hot, she had imagined that she would be able to see some sort of sign of that. But Holly was just being her regular nerdy self. Gail was used to people finding her attractive and there was always a sign. A secret look, an over eager smile, unconscious touching of the face or hair. Anything really, but Holly was giving nothing away. Maybe she wasn't interested any more. She could have been attracted to Gail's looks on that first night, but now she had gotten to know her, the interest had more than likely waned. That was probably it, Gail thought and the sliver of disappoint she felt was both puzzling and annoying.

When Gail's phone rang some time later, all three women jumped and the cops both instinctively twitched towards their weapons before they fully registered what the sound was. Gail listened to Chen for only a few seconds before putting the phone down.

"They're on the way back," she told others when she saw their expectant looks.

"And?" Andy demanded.

Gail shook her head, "They didn't get them,"

The atmosphere in the room nosedived as soon as Chen and McGregor got back. Everyone had come to expect McGregor to be gruff, but even Chen was in a surly mood as they recounted the non-events of the last hour or so. They had met up with the uniforms from Fifteen before roaring round to where McGregor had spotted the trailing vehicle earlier, but the car had gone. They had spent a futile hour driving round the surrounding area hoping to pick them up again but eventually had to admit defeat. McGregor was seething at being so close, whereas Chen just seemed frustrated that they hadn't gone to tackle the guys earlier.

"Its fine," Andy said when she heard the story. "We'll get them next time,"

"I would hope there isn't going to be a next time, Officer McNally!" McGregor chastised, "We don't want Dr Stewart followed just so we can get a handle on these guys,"

"I didn't mean it quite like that," she muttered, trying to ignore Gail's smirking face. The blonde was just pleased someone else was getting a ticking off from the boss, as it had been her for the past week.

The sergeant gave an exasperated shake of his head. "So, plan for the rest of the day ladies and gentleman. I am classing this as a high threat situation therefore myself and Officer Peck will be joining you for the rest of the shift,"

"Wait, am I still doing the night shift too?" Gail interrupted with a scowl.

"Yes, we don't have the numbers to switch things around I'm afraid,"

"That's going to be a twenty four hour shift! On two hours sleep!" Gail exclaimed.

McGregor grunted. "You're going to have to suck it up Officer Peck. Someone is going to have to do it and unfortunately you've drawn the short straw,"

"Fan-fucking-tastic," she mumbled under her breath.

Holly was still sat behind her desk and was giving a wholly unconvincing performance of that all time classic act of 'I'm busy working and not listening to a word you're saying'. But she gave up when Gail's grumpy side came out. "I'm only working half a day today. Maybe when I'm home this afternoon, you could grab a couple of hours sleep there Gail?" she suggested. She had taken some time she was due today because it was Rachel's birthday so they had plans to meet up early at Lisa's house and have a few drinks before going out. But she didn't mind putting off the pre-drinks if she had to – Gail couldn't have been home for more than a couple of hours this morning before she had to come rushing in.

"And I don't mind putting a couple of extra hours in later, so we can cross over," Andy interjected too.

"That's settled then; you'll get plenty of time for a break, Peck," McGregor said.

The blonde officer rolled her eyes out of sight of McGregor. She actually wasn't worried about pulling a twenty four hour shift; she was a police officer. It wouldn't be the first time and probably not the last. The only reason she had asked is because tonight's shift was going to be a little different with Holly going out. Gail was looking forward to it. It was a chance to get out to a bar, enjoy the music at least even if she was on duty so couldn't have a drink. And see Holly all glammed up. She didn't want to miss her shift later, so was relieved to hear they weren't swapping despite the extra hours she would be putting in today. As soon as that thought sunk in though, McGregor was trying to ruin it.

"About this evening you have planned though Dr Stewart, maybe today isn't the best time…" he started, but Holly interrupted.

"Whoa. No way, Sergeant. We had a deal; I am going out tonight. You've already agreed it,"

"I know that, but in light of what has happened, I think…"

Again, Holly didn't let McGregor finish, "We have a plan. Gail and Scott will be there the whole time and you yourself will be outside. It's no more dangerous now than it was when we agreed this,"

"When we agreed it, we didn't know there was anyone watching you," Chen cautioned.

"They won't know where I am! As long as they don't follow me from home, how will they know I'm out somewhere?" Holly asked. "You keep telling me that the most dangerous thing I can do is stick to a routine. Nothing about tonight is routine, it's a one off night out!"

Gail watched the exchange with interest. She hadn't seen Holly get annoyed since that first night and that was just a silly temper tantrum. This was firm and commanding Holly; Gail liked it.

"We'll see how the rest of today pans out," McGregor said, trying to dismiss the argument for now.

"I'm going, Sergeant McGregor. You can't actually stop me, but I would be grateful if your officers would accompany me, as we'd arranged,"

McGregor's mouth opened and shut like a goldfish and he looked round the room for support. However Jacob was paying more attention to the shelf crammed full of books and papers above Holly's desk and Andy was staring at the floor. He didn't even try Gail.

"Let's sort out today first. I believe I was going to pass on my orders, before we all went off on this rather irritating tangent!" Gail could see the thick vein running across McGregor's temple popping out from under his skin. No wonder he was going grey if he got stressed this easily. She could also hear the tension in his voice so decided not to push it.

"McNally and Chen, you are shadows – stick close to Dr Stewart at all times. I will be the front guard, moving round the building, watching exits. Peck I want you out front, external surveillance. Keep a low profile, obviously some of your colleagues may be around. Understood?"

Everyone murmured their understanding and McGregor left to make sure Gail had a clear run through the building. As the door swung shut behind him, the remaining officers looked at one another.

"Well that was cheerful," Andy deadpanned.

"Least you're not on the twenty four hour clock," Gail replied.

Andy inclined her head; she had to give that one to Gail. "I meant it though. I can stay later tonight, give you a couple of hours rest," she said.

Gail didn't want to accept the favour from her colleague, but it was a nice gesture she supposed. She shrugged and changed the topic, "I'm surprised he called me in to be honest," she said. She knew McGregor wasn't her biggest fan, so was kind of shocked he had called her in an emergency. Maybe although he didn't get on with her personally, he was still able to recognise that she was a good cop doing a good job on this assignment.

"He couldn't get through to Sanderson," Chen interjected, without giving thought to what he was implying.

Oh. Well that explained it, Gail thought. It wasn't that McGregor rated her; she was just the only one available. Brilliant. Last choice as usual.

From across the room, Holly noticed the flicker of disappointment that flashed across the blonde's face. She frowned at Jacob, cursing his insensitivity. Before she could say anything though, Gail was out the door and off to patrol the perimeter of the building. Holly sighed and picked up a pen. She hadn't done any real work today so far, and she had a lot to get through if she was going to be able to leave early as planned.

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"Cop stance," was the whisper Gail heard in her ear before she felt someone grip her wrists from behind, where she had clasped them behind her back. She felt her hands being tugged apart and so she relaxed them and let them fall to her sides. She was far more aware of the warm breath against her neck and how now that her hands were out the way she could sense the body behind her step closer in, gently resting against her back. Before she could turn, a knee nudged sharply against the back of her own causing it to bend slightly out of the straight locked position she had adopted. The move brought the hips of the perpetrator up against her backside for a split second and she froze at the feel of the warm body which was almost spooning her own.

Gail turned round and experienced the full force of a megawatt Holly Stewart smile. The noise of the crowded bar around them swam back into focus after a few moments and Gail looked up at where Sanderson was sat on a small table in the corner near to where Holly's loud and raucous friends were celebrating Rachel's birthday. None of them seemed to have noticed the exchange between the two women, which surprised the cop. Her heart was beating faster and she felt warm; surely somebody should have seen that? Gail didn't realise that it had merely been a second or two since Holly approached her at the bar.

"You're supposed to be undercover, Officer Peck," Holly chided, her eyes sparkling in amusement. "You can't slip into the uptight cop stance,"

"It's not my cop stance. It's my 'I've been waiting to get served for over five minutes and I'm not even buying the good stuff so I might have to rip someone's ear off' stance," Gail retorted, still frustrated at having been at the bar for so long.

"Well you looked like a cop again. And you can't do that otherwise someone will spot you and know you're here for me," Holly explained.

"Here doing what for you?" Gail asked. They had been here for a couple of hours, and Holly finally seemed to be getting a little bit tipsy. She had a long way to go to catch up with some of her friends though.

"Watching me," she said, as if it were obvious.

Gail laughed at the serious look on the other woman's face. "Won't they just assume I'm an off duty cop who's just here on a night out, watching you because I'm trying to pick you up?"

Holly considered that, "Probably. I do look very hot tonight,"

"You do," Gail agreed, feeling safe enough to admit that with Holly in a less than clear minded state. The brunette was wearing a black button down shirt which fitted in all the right places and she had left enough buttons undone to show a hint of an impressive cleavage. Her tight jeans hugged her thighs and her heels made her long legs look like they went on forever. Yet it was Holly's arms that drew Gail's attention; her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and revealed strong, tanned forearms. Gail couldn't take her eyes off the smooth skin she saw there, and felt the urge to lay her hand on it. Gail knew it was weird, but she had always had a bit of a thing for arms. Both Nick and Chris had fantastic arms, but of course it was easier for men to get definition in their biceps. Her first boyfriend in high school had been a power hitter for the school baseball team so even his arms also rippled with muscle. Yep Gail definitely had an arm thing. Though if anyone ever asked what attracted her to someone she wouldn't admit it; she would trot out one of the usual lines about eyes, or smile, or ass. She had never found herself looking at another woman's arms quite like this before though…and she couldn't even see Holly's upper arms which were usually the bit she drooled over! She shook her head slightly, trying to snap out of it. Where had this come from?

As Gail mused over her sudden realisation that girls arms could be sexy too, the other woman was oblivious to the thoughts running through her friend's head and shared the idea that had just popped up in her own brain; "It would make a better cover story than you and Sanderson being on a date!" Holly exclaimed brightly.

"Yeah…I'm not sure that McGregor knew what sort of place this was when he cooked that one up," Gail grimaced. She and Sanderson were supposed to be sticking close to the brunette and keeping an eye on the area from their cosy perch in the corner. McGregor's premise was that they would just look like a couple out together for a few drinks and he could cover the outside of the bar, vetting those who came in. However it had quickly become obvious that she and Sanderson would stick out like a sore thumb here, being the only straight "couple" in the place.

Holly giggled and Gail couldn't help but smile at the sound. She had obviously heard Holly laugh before, but never giggle in quite such a girly manner. She leant in towards Gail; "I didn't tell him it was a gay bar," she admitted in conspiratorial tone.

"Neither did I," Gail responded and they both cracked up.

"Hey, you could have bought Andy!" Holly said. "You two would make a hot couple,"

Gail's laughter spluttered to a stop at the thought. "I don't think so, Lunchbox," she said, and turned back to the bar where she still hadn't been served thanks to Holly's interruption.

"You'll have to forgive her one day you know,"

"You think Andy's hot?" Gail shot straight back, turning the tables.

"Not as -" Holly caught herself before she said something silly. She was tipsy enough to flirt a little bit with Gail, but telling her she didn't think Andy was anywhere near as hot as the blonde would definitely not be a good idea. She knew her attraction to the sardonic cop was inappropriate and had been holding back her interest in all the time they spent together. But she figured that tonight she could let loose a little; flirt a bit and share some banter. She could always blame it on the alcohol. "Not really," she said eventually.

Gail's attention was caught by the bartender eventually asking what she wanted and she ordered two soft drinks for her and Sanderson, asking him to put them in normal glasses so it wouldn't be obvious. "Drink, Holly? You may as well order whilst I've got this chump's attention, otherwise you'll be waiting forever," she asked.

"Jack and coke please," was the reply, Holly still trying to get over how she had nearly answered Gail's first question. The cop ordered the drink and gave Holly a death stare when she tried to hand over some cash for it.

"Thanks Gail. I owe you one," Holly said.

"Deal. But I want a proper drink, so not tonight when I'm only on lemonade!"

"Okay. I'll take you out for a real drink when you're not working," Holly agreed happily. "Well, better get back to the birthday girl! Cheers!" she raised her glass towards Gail before heading back towards her friends.

Gail stood still for a moment. Had she just been asked out? Well actually, not even asked. Just told. What the heck just happened there? She looked over towards where Holly was standing with one of her friends who was chatting away whilst Holly just blinked at her. In her peripheral vision she caught sight of Sanderson, who was slowly waving his arms back and forth to get her attention. She sauntered over and sat down next to him so she could still see Holly.

"What?" Gail asked, dumping the drink in front of him.

"It's just taken you ten minutes to get a drink, then you stood there staring into space when you got it. Are you losing the plot, Peck?" Scott asked.

"That barman is the slowest server in the history of this planet,"

"Couldn't you flutter your eyelids at him? Isn't that how you girls usually get served quickest?"

"Sanderson, we're in a gay bar. Go figure," she told him sardonically.

"Good point well made," Scott replied, and they settled back into their chairs, continuing to scan the room and keep an eye on Holly who was now talking to Lisa. Lisa was one of the few members of Gail's group who knew who Sanderson and Gail were and why they were there. Gail had been introduced when the woman arrived at Holly's earlier and had taken an instant disliking to her. That may have been because Lisa ringing the bell had woken the blonde from where she was snuggled up in Holly's spare room grabbing a couple of hours sleep. Or it may have been the sarcastic way Lisa had referred to the team as the babysitters when she heard they were coming out with Holly. Either way, the woman was a Grade A bitch.

As the evening wore on, the alcohol took its toll on Holly and her friends, plus the rest of the bar. Gail soon realised that being stone cold sober in a bar full of drunken people made it very difficult to resist her usual urges of tazering someone in the eye. Holly was currently tearing up the dancefloor with some of her friends however and her antics were at least keeping the blonde entertained. She sent Sanderson out to check in with McGregor and told him to stop off at the bar on his way back. "Get me something interesting," she ordered.

"Ooo, mocktails!" Scott said, with false enthusiasm.

"Now you're blending in better!" Gail told him with a wink.

As she sat on her own and ran her eye over the crowd looking for anything out of place, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to read the text.

Doctor Holly: Cop Stance!

Gail frowned and looked over to where Holly was stood on the edge of the dancefloor, taking a breather. She hit reply and typed out a message.

Gail: I'm sitting down.

Doctor Holly: Not you! Them!

Holly waited until Gail looked up at her, and then pointed over to where Sanderson and McGregor stood near the front entrance door casually talking. They were both standing like bookends, straight backed with their hands folded behind them. Gail smirked and responded.

Gail: You are very observant, Doc. But this cop stance seems to be becoming an obsession of yours.

Doctor Holly: I notice things. I like your necklace…I noticed that. It's beautiful.

Gail quirked an eyebrow at that abrupt change of topic in the conversation, and she twirled the necklace in question around in her fingers. Gail rarely wore jewellery, but she felt the need to dress up her simple top and jacket combination tonight. The modest silver twist seemed to do the trick.

Doctor Holly: Not that I was looking at your chest.

That time Gail had to laugh out loud and glanced up at Holly who was also laughing, though her face betrayed her as Gail could see the blush across her cheeks. She typed a one word reply.

Gail: Busted.

Doctor Holly: Bathroom!

When Gail read that last message, she actually responded out loud. "What?" Sometimes she found Holly difficult to follow; the brunette liked to bounce from topic to topic in conversation. But in text, she was even worse. She waited for Holly to approach her and asked her question by simply looking at the other woman.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Thought I should tell you, so you can do your creepy follow thingy," Holly said. She held out her hand and pulled Gail up, but didn't let go as she led her towards the bathrooms at the back of the bar.

"Are you enjoying your night?" Gail asked.

"Yeah! I think I might be a little drunk though! Shhh, don't tell anyone," Holly whispered, before that giggle came out again.

Gail didn't quite hear all of that as she was busy checking out the small corridor they were in as she hasn't been back here before. She was still on duty, after all.

"Gail! Stop being police-y!" Holly told her, slapping her on the shoulder.

"There might be an insane hitman behind that bathroom door Doc, you never know. And I kind of like you, so it would be a shame if they got you now," Gail said.

Holly pulled back on her arm, halting the officer's progress suddenly. "You're insane. You know that right?" she said and before Gail had a chance to realise what was happening, she pressed a small kiss against the blonde's lips. It was gentle and fleeting and utterly captivating. As soon as it had happened, Holly was pulling away and skipping towards the bathroom, leaving Gail stood in the hallway, completely and utterly shocked.

She paused for a beat before gathering herself and following Holly through the door, wanting to ask what that was all about. But the other woman was already in the stall and Gail didn't really feel this should be a conversation they should have through some wooden partitioning. As she stood there waiting, she suddenly realised that she could do with answering the call of nature too. She entered the other stall just as she heard Holly finishing up.

"Hey, wait for me please Lunchbox?" she called out.

"Yes ma'am!" came the reply as the sink started to run. However, Gail then heard the main door to the bathroom swing open and she tensed immediately. She relaxed when she heard one of Holly's giggling friends come in and greet her. Gail couldn't hear their conversation but she did catch Holly's raised voice.

"Gail! I'm just heading out with Jess! See you in a sec!" she called.

"Wait, Holly!" Gail yelled, rushing to yank her jeans up, but by the time she'd exited the stall Holly had gone. Dammit, Gail thought. Not only had she wanted to speak to Holly about what had happened, she wasn't supposed to let the woman out of her sight.

Gail trotted back to the bar and found Sanderson back at their table. She looked over to Holly's gaggle of friends but there was no sign of the brunette. "Where's Holly?" she asked, searching the crowd.

"I assumed she was with you?" Sanderson looked up and his movements stilled.

"She was, but she left the bathroom before me. She would have come out of that door right there," Gail said, pointing.

"She hasn't come past me," he replied, standing up and using his tall frame to look over the people surrounding them and begin his own scan of the bar.

"Fuck!" Gail swore, and started to push through the room, heading towards the bar and then the dancefloor. The panic began to set in as she made a slow circuit of the room, checking all the nooks and crannies she assumed Sanderson couldn't see from his stationery position. She stuck her head into all the booths along the west wall and even hopped up into the DJ booth for a look. Where the heck was she? Come on, she chanted to herself as she moved as quickly as she could through the mass of people, expecting to walk right into Holly at any second. Nothing could have happened to her, surely? She had been out of Gail's sight for less than a minute. They had been watching the room all night, nobody had been acting remotely suspicious and McGregor had been on the door. Fuck!

She crashed into Sanderson somewhere near the dancefloor. "She's not here!" she told him, fear evident in her voice. God, if something had happened, it would be all her fault. She was supposed to have been with her! Her heart was racing and she fought to temper her anxiety and try to think straight.

"She's got to be," Sanderson answered. "Go check the bathroom again,"

Gail shoved her way through the centre of the room and barrelled through the door leading to the bathrooms, Sanderson hot on her heels. She turned left into the ladies room and heard him burst into the men's room opposite, although if Holly was in there she would eat her own pepper spray. Her quick and frantic check yet again revealed no Holly and Gail slammed her fist against the drier as she left the room, scraping her knuckles. She had really screwed this up. If someone had grabbed Holly, then she didn't know what the hell she would do.

Sanderson gave a grim shake of his head when they met in the corridor and Gail's stomach dropped like a stone. The men's room had been their last place to check.

"Call McGregor," Sanderson said, the worry written all over his face.

She hesitated, knowing as soon as she did that then she would have to admit that she had failed.

"Gail. We've got to call him. This is bad," he urged.

Still Gail didn't move, the fear weighing her in place and the last few minutes running in loop around her head. Had they missed anything? Was there anywhere they hadn't checked before they made the call? Sanderson swore under his breath and pulled his own phone out, but as he did so they heard a bang at the end of the corridor. A young man came walking unsteadily round the corner, pausing when he saw the two cops stood in front of him blocking the way.

"Hello," he said with a grin which faltered when they turned their stony gazes towards where he stood and he felt the tension radiating off them.

"What the hell is through there?" Sanderson growled, pointing behind the man.

"Uh, smoker's terrace," the guy said, flummoxed at the aggressive manner of the question. Before he could ask though, the two people came running towards him and he had to flatten himself against the wall to avoid being knocked aside. The couple charged through the door and disappeared outside. "Straight people," the guy muttered with a roll of his eyes and he headed off in the direction of the bar.

As Gail ran through the door they had failed to spot earlier, she spent a brief moment deciding that 'terrace' was an overly extravagant description of what was essentially a yard. The management had tried to fancy it up with some decking, a couple of heaters and some palm plants but it was still a dingy old delivery yard. She didn't care though when she spotted Holly in the far corner, standing with her friend from earlier. Gail's knees virtually buckled with relief and she grabbed hold of Sanderson's forearm. She turned to look at him and opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the words. Her mouth felt as dry as parchment so she swallowed and just shook her head. Sanderson leant back against the door and exhaled long and loudly to rid himself of his own panic.

"How did we not know this was out here?" Gail asked, just to break the silence.

"We didn't recon the place when we arrived," Sanderson shrugged. "We should have. Stupid," he said, aiming it at himself rather than Gail. He was the experienced protection officer after all.

Gail nodded. She hadn't even thought about that. Maybe this bodyguard job wasn't quite as straightforward as she assumed. She consciously relaxed her muscles and willed her heart to slow down and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach to dissipate. However as she turned back towards Holly those feelings came rushing back as she saw the other woman standing with the doctor step in close and kiss her passionately. Holly's hands moved up the other woman's back as she was pushed against the brick wall of the building.

The sick feeling turned to anger in Gail's chest. She had just spent ten minutes scared witless for this woman's life only to find her necking behind the bar like a teenager. Before her brain could catch up with her, she was marching over.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" she yelled, when she was close enough to the two women. They broke apart quickly, surprise written across both of their faces.

"Gail…" Holly started to speak, but the cop didn't give her a chance.

"I told you to wait for me! You don't fucking stroll off when I tell you to wait,"

"I thought you'd follow" she tried to explain, but Gail was having none of it.

"You didn't think at all," the blonde snapped, ignoring Sanderson who was hissing at her to keep it down. "We're leaving. This night is done, come on," she stated.

The girl with Holly chose that moment to try and interject, sweeping her light brown hair back out of her face and putting her hand on the pathologist's shoulder. "Hey. You don't get to tell Holly what to do,"

Gail gave the woman an icy stare. "Yeah, I do actually." She jerked her head at Holly and stormed towards the door, relying on Sanderson to usher the doctor after her and leaving the other woman open mouthed behind them.