It was strange, Gail mused, how she would spend six days a week waiting for her day off to come along but then when it arrived, she spent the whole time looking forward to going back to work. This bodyguard gig was intense that was for sure. They were working around seventy two hours a week and although they did have plenty of downtime on shift, the effort of psyching themselves up to be focussed and alert even during the periods they were sat still was taxing. To be fair to McGregor, he was also putting in the time. This week he had done a couple of hours at changeover time on his spare days, allowing one of his team to knock off early or start late each day, as well as covering the four full days off each week.
It was a tough schedule though. Gail and Sanderson had both cracked and on two separate nights had spent half a night each crashed out in Holly's spare room, with the other one keeping a particularly vigilant watch. She had no idea how Chen and McNally were managing a break during the dayshift because it would be infinitely harder with Holly awake and on the move.
So the yesterday's night off had been well earned, and a welcome break. She had gone for a couple of beers at The Penny, meeting up with Traci as most of the others were on nights. The detective had grilled her about the work she was doing and Gail was convinced she had picked up some clues from Steve. Traci seemed pretty clued in. Steve was usually a master at subterfuge; it was a requirement of Guns and Gangs, but her brother was so head over heels for Nash that Gail suspected he was a little less circumspect around her.
However, after Traci had gone home to relieve the babysitter, Gail had found herself at a bit of a loss. She'd stuck around for a couple more at The Penny purely because the plan was to stay up most of the night so she didn't fall out of her current sleep pattern, but she had soon lost interest in drinking. She had ended up just heading back to the apartment and playing a few video games on her own. That's when she started wishing she was at Holly's anyway; at least she'd have a bit of company. They would have maybe played a board game or two. They had also agreed to start working their way through the Marvel comic films, starting with Iron Man which in Gail's not so humble opinion was definitely the coolest of all the heroes. It looked so much better on Holly's widescreen than the tiny portable that was shoved in the corner of Gail's own room.
Having said all that though, Gail had been nervous about returning to Holly's place after her break. They had talked about the fight and they had apologised (plus Holly had made doughnuts, obviously) but Gail knew she had left things unsaid. She suspected Holly had as well. Not to mention the feelings she had for the doctor that were still occupying her thoughts; they had been another reason she couldn't relax on her day off. Gail was therefore expecting a bit of an awkward atmosphere.
As it turned out, she needn't have worried. The moment she walked through the door, things were too hectic at Holly's to leave any space for uncomfortable moments. Chen and McNally were still there of course and as it was Sanderson's night off, McGregor was present to cover his shift. All three were sat grim faced around the table, and Holly was nowhere to be seen.
"What's happened?" Gail asked, now worrying for a different reason. All three officers turned to her, but they deferred to McGregor to answer.
"Doctor Stewart's mother has been targeted," he said solemnly.
"Is she ok?" Gail asked, before he could even give any more details. She knew Holly was pretty close to her parents and if something had happened then she would be devastated.
"She's fine," Andy quickly reassured the blonde, and Gail breathed a sigh of relief. She stalked over to the table and sat down in the remaining chair, waiting for the story.
"Mr and Mrs Stewart's protection detail had noticed their car being followed on a couple of occasions over the past week. Unfortunately they had no concrete evidence or opportunity to counteract this," McGregor explained. "But today, Mrs Stewart was out walking the dog - with two of our officers of course. A car mounted the sidewalk and drove straight toward her in a deliberate act. One of the officers was alert however and managed to push her out the way so no harm was done. The protection officers couldn't stop the car but they got a plate; the vehicle was found abandoned three blocks away,"
Gail caught Jacob Chen's eye and saw the stocky officer looked less than pleased at that news. "So, these guys from Kolarov's gang are definitely targeting the family in the hope of Kate keeping her mouth shut?" he asked.
McGregor nodded, "I think we can confirm there is a clear and viable danger, yes. We had the incident at the courthouse and this news from Vancouver only shows how wide their reach is. At the start of this brief, we had empty threats in the form of letters. Now we have at least two incidents where gang members have engaged our people,"
All four officers looked serious as they processed that. "So what do we do?" asked Gail, expecting a plan to ramp up security.
"I've recommended the Stewarts are put into the full protection programme and taken out the country for their own safety," McGregor said.
"Holly won't go," Gail told him immediately. She had no idea why she was so confident of that, but her gut said the doctor wouldn't leave her home and work unless she absolutely had to.
"Yes, she has already indicated as such," he replied with a frown. "The other option is a safe house; we have one ready and waiting. But with Dr Stewart still attending work, that potentially won't help matters. This house is secure, we know that. We are vulnerable when she is on the move, not here,"
"We're just going to have to be completely on the ball", Jake stated. "If we follow our procedures and keep focussed, we can keep everything contained here,"
The level of self-assurance Jake could emit with his shaved head, dark, steady eyes and muscled frame made even the usually mistrustful Gail feel confident that he was right.
"I agree," McGregor said. "Constant vigilance, that is what we need,"
Gail did try to hide her smirk, but Andy caught it and her puzzled response tipped Gail into a full blown smile. She wondered if McGregor realised he had just quoted a Harry Potter character? Come to think of it, he very much reminded her of Mad Eye Moody.
"Are you paying attention, Officer Peck?" he barked. "This is serious business,"
"Sorry, yes. I'm completely with you. We'll be even more careful," she replied.
"Make sure that you are. All of you," McGregor stared down each of his team, and seemed satisfied that they had got the message. "Ok, we're done here then. Chen and McNally, you may go. Peck, I believe I am manning the surveillance van tonight, Officer Sanderson tells me you did so last night,"
That wasn't true, Sanderson had done it last night but he knew how much Gail hated it so he must have told McGregor the opposite. Gail therefore simply nodded, and wished she had given the lanky cop a doughnut after all.
"Wait," McNally said as they all rose from the table, the brief conference over. "You need to go and speak to Holly, Gail," She looked at McGregor, gesturing with her eyes to remind him of something they had clearly discussed earlier.
"Ah yes, that's probably a good idea. Dr Stewart is a little bit upset," he said.
"So would I be if someone drove a car at my Mum," Gail answered, although she would put good money on Elaine coming off best against most vehicles anyway. And she wasn't sure she would be upset, per se, more like interested in the outcome for whichever maniac took on Superintendent Peck.
"Yes, that is part of the reason," McGregor agreed, and it was Andy who this time rolled her eyes and interjected, not willing to wait for him to spit it out.
"Her parents said yes to going into the full protection programme. They've flown out to join Kate, wherever she is. Holly didn't get a chance to speak to them before they left," she explained with a grimace.
"But Kate Stewart is fine!" McGregor quickly added, as if to cover his own insensitivity to the situation. "I had word from HQ earlier confirming there had been no problems at all at her location,"
Gail nodded, thinking that was a silver lining she could share with Holly as she would bet McGregor hadn't bothered.
"You should go check up on her, Gail. I tried earlier, but she gets on better with you than the rest of us," Andy suggested and Gail couldn't hold back her surprise at that statement. Was she closer with Holly than the rest of the team? She knew she spent more direct time with her than Sanderson, the two of them spending more time chatting and laughing together than he did. She had just assumed that was because Holly was more used to friendships with women, rather than it being her in particular. She had only seen Holly and McNally interact briefly so had no real comparison there.
"I'll go up in a minute," Gail told them and they nodded their agreement.
After the two day shift officers had left and McGregor had been packed off into the van, Gail did make her way upstairs. She knocked softly at Holly's closed bedroom door, and stepped through when she heard the muffled "Come in!"
She found Holly dressed in her workout gear, stretched out on the floor with her legs in the air as the sound of some gentle music played in the background.
"What are you doing?" Gail asked, bewildered by the scene. That could not be comfortable.
Holly dropped her legs and lay in a perfectly flat position, her chest rising and falling in time with the deep breaths she was taking. "Yoga," she said simply, her eyes shut. "What does it look like?"
"Torture," Gail replied, flopping down to sit on the bed and watch the strange ritual the surprisingly bendy pathologist was carrying out.
Holly didn't open her eyes, but laughed at Gail's less than impressed summation. "I'm not allowed to go running, so I have to clear my mind somehow," she defended herself.
"Hmmm. Reality TV, tequila and junk food. Not necessarily in that order, but all better options just so you know,"
"Maybe later," Holly mumbled, and she pulled her knees up her chest slowly, wrapping her arms around them and holding the pose steady.
Gail took the opportunity to look around Holly's bedroom, which she had only been in briefly prior to today. It was far more light and airy than her own room at the Frat house, and the oak furniture gave it a cosy yet modern feel. High shelves above the bed displayed a wide collection of books, and Holly had some sort of science journal on the bedside table, the pages incongruously marked with penguin shaped post it notes. She waited for Holly to relax the stretch before speaking again.
"They told me about your parents," she said. Holly's eyes still didn't open as she lay on the floor but Gail noticed her bite the inside of her lip. "I'm glad your Mum is ok," she continued.
"Yeah," Holly said softly. She rose to a seated position and opened her eyes to look at Gail.
"Are you ok?" Gail asked. Holly seemed to be alright, but Andy had said she was upset and she was definitely more monosyllabic than usual.
"I'm ok. Just a bit freaked out," was the response. Holly dug her fingers into the carpet, pushing the fibres into patterns near her feet.
"They'll be safe now," Gail told her. "Nothing will happen while they're out the country,"
"I hope so,"
"Kate is ok, she's absolutely fine. McGregor found out and told me earlier. I guess he didn't tell you?"
The flash of relief that flew across Holly's face told Gail that no, he hadn't. Idiot man. She smiled down at the other woman who did return it, albeit only a small smile rather than her usual wide grin.
"No he didn't. Thank you, that's good to know," Holly said.
"Do you miss her?" the cop asked, curious about Holly was dealing with this. They had spoken about Kate on one of the first nights Gail was here, but hadn't mentioned her more than in passing since.
"Yeah. And I worry about her. I just want it to be over and they can all come home. Vancouver was far enough, but now I don't even know which country they're in. I wish I had spoken to my parents before they had to leave," sighed Holly.
"You know you can change your mind and go with them, if you want?" Gail tentatively suggested, knowing that Holly was unlikely to agree. Sure enough the other woman shook her head straight away.
"No. I need to stay here, where my life is almost normal. I don't want to run and hide. I'm just going to miss being able to talk to them," she said sadly.
Gail knew that Holly spoke to her parents every couple of days, Sanderson still had her calls linked to his phone and had mentioned it. He didn't listen in to any of them now, after deciding they could trust her not to concoct some sort of plan to get away from the protection team. Gail still thought it was a stupid idea in the first place and knew that Andy felt the same. She wasn't sure about Chen and McGregor.
"I can't imagine talking to my mother as often as you do, and we live in the same city," she told Holly, feeling almost envious about her close relationship.
"We've always been close. I love that I can pick up the phone and talk to her about what's bothering me. She gives the best advice," Holly replied, her face falling at the thought of not having her mother on the end of the phone and hearing that advice. She had told her about Gail actually, and her Mum had been a god send. She hadn't dismissed it or told Holly not to be silly; she had just listened and helped her talk it through. When she couldn't get thoughts of Gail out of her head, Holly had called her mother and raved about the blonde for ten minutes, then after their fight she had done the same and told her everything that annoyed her about Gail. It was good to have an outlet, and she didn't know how she was going to process things without that sounding board. This attraction was already driving her mad.
"It's not the same, but you can talk to me if you want," Gail offered, before she had even realised she was going to.
"Not about everything…" Holly murmured quietly to herself, still thinking of how her Mum had listened to her monologues about Gail; how beautiful she was, her sarcasm, how she could be so aloof and yet so perceptive. She was pretty sure she shouldn't share that with Gail. Although her mother's opinion all along had been she should simply ask Gail out and tell her exactly that. I don't think so, Mum. Holly blinked and actually responded to Gail at a volume the other woman could hear. "Thanks, Gail. I'm glad you're here,"
"Well, it's all part of the service," Gail joked. "And I could be on the street chasing drug dealers and getting spat at, so you know, win win,"
Holly rolled her eyes. Yet another example of Gail deflecting a compliment. "Charming," she said and she sprang to her feet, the moment gone. She walked to the dresser which was on the other side of the bed to where Gail was sitting, near the window. As she started delving through the drawers for something to wear other than her yoga gear, she noticed the framed photo on the bedside table, so she paused and picked it up, holding it out in Gail's direction.
"This is them," she said, and Gail collapsed backwards on the bed in order to see.
She took the picture from Holly and held it above her head. The elder Stewart's flanked Holly, matching smiles filling all three faces and Holly's mortar board cap knocked slightly askew by her father leaning in too close.
"Graduation," Gail said. "They look proud of you,"
"That was my doctorate. You'd think they would have had enough of graduations after the first couple, but Dad said that free sandwiches were free sandwiches," Holly laughed, knowing full well her Dad had nearly exploded with pride at all of her graduations and had even cried at two of them.
"Have you got one of Kate?" asked Gail, handing back the frame from her prone position.
Holly reached up to the block shelves above the bed and pulled down another picture, this one a selfie of herself and a younger girl, clearly in London as they were standing in front of one of those guards with the ridiculous hats that never moved. Both were laughing hysterically. "We tried for a half hour to get him to smile," explained Holly.
"She's pretty," Gail commented, "She looks a lot like you,"
The brunette stilled, wondering if Gail realised she had just called her pretty. Within a few seconds though, she noticed she was now looming over Gail who was lying across her bed and those blue eyes were no longer studying the photograph, but Holly herself. Holly almost went to lean in further, those steely blue eyes pulling her in like a magnet but she swallowed hard and stopped herself. She turned away quickly, and pulled a sweater out of her drawer.
"Anyway, I'm going to have a shower. I was thinking of making pad Thai tonight; do you fancy that and a film maybe? Or a board game? We still haven't given Operation a go?" she asked, hopefully.
"A film sounds good, Lunchbox," Gail replied, ignoring the comment about Operation but taking the hint to leave Holly to it. She flipped herself up and off the bed. "I'll go check out your DVD collection and make sure you've got something for normal humans, not just the nerd brigade,"
Half an hour later, Holly came downstairs to find Gail sprawled on the couch, munching her way through a bag of Cheese Puffs.
"Hey, I thought you wanted dinner?" she chastised the blonde.
"This is an entrée!" Gail informed her.
"You are vile," Holly replied, shaking her head before changing the subject, "Did you pick out a film?"
"Well there are slim pickings, Doc, but we have two choices," Gail held out two cases over the back of the couch for Holly to take, and waited expectantly for an answer.
"Iron Man," she decided.
"But Star Wars is cool!"
"So is Iron Man!"
"Have you got Mission Impossible?"
"But you said to pick from these two?"
"You've got every single action film under the sun Holly; I had to narrow it down!"
"Fine. We'll do the Iron Man trilogy first, even though one of them sucks, then The Avengers, then Thor, then Captain America. Dinner first though," and with that Holly marched into the kitchen to start cooking.
"I don't think we can fit all those into one night," Gail mused, but the other woman didn't hear. She dropped the cases on to the coffee table and followed her through to the kitchen.
"Are you going to help?" asked Holly as she pulled pans out from the cupboards and set out her equipment.
"I'm here to watch over you Holly, not interfere, remember? It's my job to slide unobtrusively into the background," Gail said and smiled sweetly as she slid onto the bar stool.
"One day, Gail Peck, you'll cook for me. And I will sit and watch, drinking beer and passing comment," Holly told her.
"We'll see Nerd, we'll see," Gail responded. "Now don't forget – no egg, yeah?"
Holly threw a tea towel at her and it dropped neatly over the cop's head, but it didn't drown out the cackles of laughter. At least it stopped Gail from seeing that Holly was smiling too though.
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A/N: Interesting fact of the day, this chapter had exactly the same number of words as the previous one. Or at least, it did until I wrote this note. Darn. Up next; Sanderson gives them "the talk". Gail's not usually one for taking advice on board; but she likes this guy. She pretends that she doesn't, but I'm pretty sure she does.
