A/N: I have been incredibly remiss lately about thanking my Beta, which there is really no excuse for. So this chapter is for Kravn, and comes with my utter appreciation and gratitude. Kravn has beta'd every chapter in this story since Chapter 11 and quite frankly has done a phenomenal job. When I say beta'd by the way, I actually mean checked, edited, improved, Un-Britished me, encouraged me, made great suggestions, stopped much of my comma obsession, been a sounding board…and even somehow passed me some magic new job good luck! Basically, pretty much everything except make the coffee – but we are in different countries, so that would be a little tricky. This story is so much better because of her input and she has been an absolute pleasure to work with. Any errors that are left are probably because I meddled with things after the edit, by the way. So, a massive thank you to Kravn…and do I promise to try not to throw comma confetti around quite so much. There's only thirteen in this paragraph and I think only three of them are wrong!

Cheers,

Sam

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By the time they had made it across town, Gail at least had the bones of a plan. First up, she needed to get rid of Sanderson's pool car. Ideally she would want to dump it somewhere in their current vicinity which was a long way from the safe house. Then they could travel back in that direction in another vehicle before swapping again. That way they would be difficult to track even if the corrupt cop managed to follow their trail in the Taurus. Her idea was a very risky one but she supposed nothing ventured, nothing gained. The area they were in was part of her usual patrol at Fifteen, so she knew it well and if she did encounter any cops, she could probably talk her way out of it.

She turned off the road and parked in the middle of the car park, facing out to the green expanse of parkland in front of them. She figured there was no point in trying to conceal the car when it had a tracker that would give anyone its exact location. Nobody would know how they had fled the scene unless Sanderson or McNally told them, which would buy them some time. And that was assuming Sanderson would even be conscious enough to share the story. He wasn't in good shape when they wriggled out of the attic space earlier. Don't go there, Peck, she warned herself.

"Do you want to wait here, seeing that you don't have shoes?" she asked Holly.

"Where are you going?" Holly would rather march through the park in her socks if Gail was going to be out of sight for too long.

"I'll be in the car park, I'm not going anywhere," the blonde hastily clarified. "We need another car,"

Holly gave her a puzzled look. "How are we going to get…?" she began to ask, before she guessed the answer; "Wait, you're going to steal one?! You can't do that, Gail!" she said, shocked that the police officer would even think about it.

"I'm going to borrow one!" Gail defended herself, "Not steal it!"

"It's not borrowing if you don't ask!" Holly argued.

"Look, we need to get rid of this car and we need to get far away from here. If my plan works, this will be completely untraceable," explained Gail.

"But what about the poor guy whose car goes missing?"

"I'll get it back to them! Jeez, what do you take me for?" Gail rolled her eyes.

"But you're a cop!"

"Exactly, so if the owner was here I could actually commandeer one. Legally!" she replied, not knowing whether that was true or not. Holly cocked her head in a sceptical manner and the blonde shrugged back at her. "Do you have a better idea?" she challenged.

"No," Holly had to admit.

"Come on then," Gail said, and hopped out of the Taurus. Holly caught up with her as Gail scoped out the parking lot, her feet already getting cold from the chill of the asphalt. "So how do we do this?" she whispered, huddling close to the cop. "Are you going to hotwire one?"

The cop stopped her inspection of the area to turn and stare at Holly. She arched one eyebrow. "You've watched too many movies, Stewart. Nobody actually hotwires a car these days!" she whispered back.

Holly shrugged. "How would I know?" she hissed.

"Why are we whispering?" Gail asked, ignoring the question. They both looked at one another and paused for a beat before the cop snapped out of it and pulled Holly over to the end of the row. The car park was surprisingly busy for seven thirty in the morning with approximately twenty vehicles scattered about. Gail directed Holly over to the front row of cars. "Check the doors. See if any are unlocked," she instructed.

"Who on earth would leave their car unlocked round here?" the brunette asked.

"Just try," Gail replied, already pulling at the handles of the cars on her side.

They quickly snaked their way through the lot. Gail was trying to keep an eye out for anyone approaching, so was slightly behind Holly. With only three cars left on her side, Holly suddenly gave a yelp of surprise as the door handle on a scruffy Toyota popped open. "Gail! Over here," she said, still trying to keep her voice down.

The other woman jogged over and placed her palm on the hood. It was still warm; the owner hadn't been gone long. Hopefully that meant they wouldn't be back soon either. "Great. Now look for the key," she said, pulling the sun visors down and checking the door pockets. Surely not! Nobody was that careless, Holly thought. But Gail had already been right about unlocked cars so she clicked open the glove box and poked through it.

"How did you know one of them would be unlocked?" she asked, rifling through the contents.

"This is Fifteen's district; we've had a few reports of stolen cars from here. I've been sent patrolling round at stupid o'clock more times than I can count. There's a really popular running trail around this park. Apparently the joggers don't like carrying their keys with them so they leave it unlocked and hide the key, assuming that nobody will look," Gail said, her voice muffled as she ducked to search under the seats.

"Well that's not the best idea," Holly said, stirring the loose change and pens that had been carelessly dropped in the cup holder.

"It's stupid as fuck," Gail declared, ever the sympathetic one. "Ah! Bingo," she said, fishing the car keys out from under one of the floor mats in the back. She pulled out a women's hooded rain jacket and water bottle from the back seat too, inspecting them. After some deliberation she decided to keep the jacket; she had her leather one on but Holly was just in the sweater, shirt and jeans that she had worn yesterday. She had been hoping for some shoes, but clearly the owner of this car was happy to drive in her sneakers. Gail threw the jacket back on the rear seat and left the water on the ground outside the car.

"Don't want her to get dehydrated on her walk home," she muttered.

"You're all heart," Holly deadpanned, although she herself did feel more that a little guilty about this.

"Just jump in!" Gail told her. At that moment, a car rolled into view and so Holly quickly slid into the passenger seat, hunkering down below the level of the windows. The blonde had ducked down on the driver's side and was watching the newcomer in her mirrors, willing him to get lost. The man got out of his car and let a dog out of the back, a big collie which began bounding around his owner. Gail clenched her jaw; it would be just their luck if the owner of the Toyota came back now and found two women hiding in the front seat of their car. To make matters worse, the sun had completely risen and the car park was bathed in gentle morning light – there would be no hiding if they were caught.

Eventually the man strolled off down the footpath and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Holly clicked her seatbelt into place. She couldn't quite believe she was sitting there in a stolen car about to go on the run. If you can't beat them, join them she told herself and she looked expectantly at Gail; "Drive it like you stole it, Peck!" she said.

The cop turned the key and gave a sad shake of her head. "You seriously need to lay off the action films, Lunchbox," she said, before spinning the car out of the lot and back out onto the road.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The early hour meant traffic was light but Gail drove slowly and carefully, not wanting to get caught in a stolen car due to a technicality. She figured that as the hood was still warm, they probably had nearly an hour before the runner returned since the complete loop round the trail was eight miles.

Both women had settled into a contemplative silence; the blonde going over her plan and desperately trying to plug the holes, while Holly was trying to process all that had happened this morning. The only sound was the purr of the car engine. The traffic built up around them as the commuter crowds hit the roads, and Gail started to get antsy about being caught with the car. After thirty minutes of driving however, she gave a sigh of relief when they reached their destination, driving the car straight into the underground car park at the Yorkdale Shopping Mall. This time she parked in a dark corner, knowing that as soon as the stolen vehicle report came in, the licence plate would be all over the airways.

As she turned the engine off, she looked over at Holly, concerned the other woman hadn't spoken during their ride. "Phase two," she said, trying to break the apprehensive atmosphere.

"You were serious about the shopping then?" Holly asked, not really knowing why she was surprised. She felt like she had completely lost track of what was going on, so was just blindly following the police officer.

Gail shrugged. It wasn't ideal, but Holly needed something to wear on her feet and there were a couple of other things they needed to do here. "Come on, this is a crime scene. We'd better move before Forensics show up," she tried to crack a joke, but Holly didn't smile back. They got out of the car and Gail left the keys hidden under the back seat, grabbing the stolen jacket for the brunette to put on.

It had only just turned eight A.M and the stores weren't open yet. "We'll get a coffee while we wait," the cop suggested.

"I think we need to clean up first," Holly said, as they stepped into the brightly lit mall. Gail finally took a moment to check herself out and immediately realised the pathologist was right. They looked a state. Both of them were covered in dust and grime from their crawl through the attic spaces. Worse than that, they both had dried blood on their hands and forearms from their attempts to help Sanderson. Gail's stomach turned and she felt her skin crawl with the need to get rid of the signs of what had happened. Sanderson had looked bad when they left. For all she knew, he might not make it - the blood covering her hands was an immediate reminder of that possibility. She nodded and without a word led Holly towards the bathrooms where they both spent some time trying to make themselves look presentable.

Thankfully their efforts seemed to work. When they walked through the mall in search of somewhere to kill some time, the only thing that drew some second glances from the small number of scattered early birds was Holly's bare feet. Gail bought them both a coffee and they sat in comfy chairs right by the huge glass windows at the front of the mall, the morning sun shining through and casting a pleasant warmth over them.

"Shouldn't we actually be hiding out if we're on the run?" Holly asked, wondering why Gail chose to sit in such an exposed place.

"The best place to hide is in plain sight," Gail told her, "Nobody would expect us to be sitting here, drinking coffee,"

"So why are we drinking coffee?"

Gail sat back in her high backed chair and crossed her legs. "Two reasons. First, I need to make a call, and this is a good place to do it,"

"Okay. Do you need my phone?" Holly asked, remembering that the police officer had left hers with Andy.

"No, we can't use yours now in case they trace it. I'm going to borrow one," Gail replied, looking around.

"Please tell me that this time 'borrow' actually means borrow?" the brunette said with a groan.

"I'm an opportunist thief Holly, not a career criminal," Gail said, rolling her eyes.

Holly eyed her from behind her glasses, not sure how Gail was so calm about this whole situation. She was starting to feel overwhelmed by everything; the adrenaline from their escape had long since gone and in its place was a nervousness foreboding from being under threat. Someone could be hunting them right now and they had no way of telling how close they were. And it was only made worse by not knowing what their next step was. She tried to distract herself by taking a sip of her coffee, but as she lifted it there was a tell-tale rattle as the mug wobbled on the surface of the saucer, despite her using both hands. "What's the second reason?" she asked, trying to hide her shaking hands.

Gail wasn't fooled however. She leant across the table and reached out to steady the cup; taking it from the brunette with her left hand and placing it back down. She left her right hand lightly grasping Holly's and she could feel the other woman trembling under her fingers.

"This," Gail said softly. "I thought you might need a minute,"

Holly gave a strangled laugh. "I might need an hour," she said.

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in…" the blonde started, and Holly tried again to laugh but it hitched in her throat. She shook her head, having no words to respond to that statement.

"You're doing great, Hols," continued Gail, not sure how to pull her back from the brink.

"This is crazy, Gail. We should just call the cops. You can explain what happened, and tell them that someone is taking bribes. They will help us figure it out, right?" the pathologist said, trying to convince herself as much as Gail.

Gail's chest constricted when she saw the fear written across Holly's face. She felt awful for dragging her through this but she knew there was no other way. This was the only way of making sure the other woman was safe. "We can't. We don't know who is involved or who we can trust," she said gently. "I'm sorry, but we have to run. Until we know what we're dealing with, we can't stay under police protection,"

"The police are meant to help", the brunette said, shaking her head.

"I know. I'm a police officer too, remember?" Gail replied, stung a little by that comment. If Holly didn't trust her then this was going to be even harder.

Holly apologised immediately though, stopping the spiky blonde from going too far down that negative path. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just…I…I'm about three minutes from falling apart," she admitted. A tear fell from the corner of her eye when she met Gail's gaze.

Gail got up and moved round the table, kneeling next to Holly. She wrapped her arms round the brunette. "Please don't. Just be strong for a couple more hours; I know you can do it. Just give me that and then you can freak out as much as you like. And I'll probably join you. We can just hold each other and be a hot mess for a bit,"

"I'm struggling. I just need you right now," Holly whispered into Gail's ear, holding her tight.

"I'm here. I'm sorry I've got to be such a cop but I am here. Later on I'll just be your girl, okay?" she promised.

Holly nodded, her face buried in the cop's shoulder. Despite being upset, she couldn't help notice how Gail referred to herself as 'her' girl. She liked how it sounded. She took a deep breath and pulled away. "Okay. I'm okay. Just…distract me or something," she told Gail, who gave her shoulders a final squeeze and kissed the top of her head as she stood.

"Right. I'm going to borrow this guy's phone. Can you keep him talking? I don't want him to hear my conversation but I bet he won't let me go too far away," Gail said, indicating the waiter who was scrubbing tables nearby. The guy was young, maybe late teens and she knew that prising a teenager from their phone was no easy task. However, she had caught him sneaking a couple of admiring glances at them, so was pretty convinced she could sweet talk him.

The brunette raised her eyebrows. "Keep him talking?"

"Yeah, just follow my lead. Flirt with him or something," Gail advised.

"Not exactly my usual target audience," Holly muttered, as her companion waved the guy over. This day was not improving.

Sure enough though, Gail's confidence was not misplaced and after ordering more coffee and only a brief hesitation, the guy agreed to lend her his phone for a quick call. Her story of trying to meet her little sister before her cheerleading class and losing her phone on the bus seemed a little far-fetched to Holly, but he bought it. The blonde scooted off to the side to make her call, leaving Holly to chat with the waiter.

The cop smirked as she heard Holly ask the guy if he liked hockey, thinking if that was her idea of flirting with guys then it was no wonder she was a lesbian. She punched in the number from memory and prayed the recipient would pick up. She couldn't carry out her plan otherwise.

Her heart was in her mouth as she listened to the dial tone but after a few rings there was an answer.

"Hello?" came the voice on the end of the line.

"Diaz! It's me," Gail said, relieved her roommate had picked up.

"Oh, hey Gail. Whose number is this?" Chris asked.

"It's belongs to a random, never mind that," Gail said quickly. She was glad Chris' innate curiosity meant he would pick up an unknown number, but she didn't have time to satisfy him with an answer. "Remember what you said to me a few weeks back? I'm calling it in, Chris. I need a favour or two,"

"What's wrong?" he instantly asked.

"No questions, remember?" Gail shot at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Are you okay though?"

Gail knew he wouldn't focus unless she reassured him. "I'm fine, I promise. But I need your help,"

"You got it. Anything," Chris said and Gail silently thanked him for turning to the matter at hand so quickly.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"At work. I'm at the station, just booked someone but I'm heading out again soon,"

"Okay, you need to drop everything. Sorry, but this is urgent,"

"Um yeah, I guess I can take a couple of hours off," he replied, a little uneasily.

"Can you go home and pack me a bag? I need clothes for at least a couple of weeks. Then I need you to bring it to me," Gail told him, deciding to start with the easy bit.

"What sort of clothes?" Chris asked, sounding puzzled.

"Everything Diaz! It's not difficult!" she said.

"Well I've never packed for a girl before," he defended himself.

"You're a big enough girl, Chris; it's virtually the same as packing for yourself. Just don't forget the bras,"

"You want me to go in your underwear drawer?"

"I don't care because I've got more important things to worry about. Look, I don't have much time here, can you just shut up and listen for a bit?" Gail pleaded.

"Okay, okay, tell me!"

"Taped to the back of my headboard is an envelope with some cash in it, you need to bring that too. And I know it's a lot to ask, but as much cash as you can spare yourself? You know I'll pay you back," she asked.

To his credit, Chris didn't baulk at that. "I can scrape some together, I guess,"

"And I need to borrow your car," Gail said, leaping in with that whilst he was being agreeable.

"Fine," he replied again, though he sounded more perturbed at that than the cash.

"I'll get it back to you as soon as I can. Can you get all that together and bring it to the Yorkdale mall? Drive your Jeep in the underground car park, and park as close to the exit as you can. If you leave the keys between the seats, I'll pick it up from there," she instructed.

"I'm not going to meet you?" Chris asked and Gail sensed he was unhappy with that.

"I can't, Chris. Trust me okay? No questions,"

There was a pause. "Fine. Anything else?"

Gail sucked in a breath. "Yeah. This is a big one. But I wouldn't ask unless I had to, alright? Check the system for a stolen vehicle report; blue Toyota Corolla," Gail reeled off the licence plate before continuing. "You'll find it in the far west corner of the parking lot. Can you get it back to the owner? But you can't tell anyone where you found it, okay? Better yet, if she's not called it in yet then ring her and say you've already found it!"

"Gail…." Chris' tone was now uncertain and Gail couldn't blame him. She knew this was a massive deal; she was basically telling Chris to put a false report in. Some might call it obstructing justice.

"I know, I know. But it's really important. Please, Chris. You have to keep this between us, you can't tell anyone I called. Nobody can know I was at Yorkdale. I hate to ask, but I have to," she implored him.

The long silence made Gail wonder if she had pushed Chris too far. He had been the one who had made her promise to call him if she needed something but this wasn't just a favour she was asking him. She was asking him to put his career on the line and she would never be able to repay him if he came through.

"Okay. I'll sort it out. I don't know how, but leave it with me," he promised.

"You'll think of something. Thanks, Diaz. I owe you big time,"

"Anytime, Gail," and she was reminded of the conversation which had prompted this call, when he had also brushed off her thanks.

"As soon as you can, okay?" she told him.

"I'll be there in ninety minutes,"

"And nobody can know. Not even Steve or Oliver. Seriously Chris, it could be really dangerous if you tell anyone about this," she pressed and he told her he understood.

"Be careful, please Gail?" he asked, and she promised she would before ending the call. Gail took a moment to thank her lucky stars Diaz had come through for her. He had said she could ring him with whatever she needed but she hadn't really believed he meant it. She had thought that when she tested him, he would turn away and it would be too much. But he'd taken on every single thing she'd asked him to do; and they weren't small requests. His car, some cash and even covering up for her and keeping her secrets. She would have been disappointed if Chris had said no, but she would have understood. But he'd stepped up to the plate and assured her he would sort it all.

The blonde strolled back to the table where the waiter was now watching her suspiciously and handed back his phone with a smile. "Thanks buddy, my baby sister will be really grateful you helped us out," she said.

"Hey, maybe you could introduce me when she gets here?" the guy asked, and Gail readily agreed before he virtually skipped off to get their refills.

"Who did you call?" Holly asked when the kid was out of sight.

"My friend Chris. He's a cop too. He's going to help us out with the wheels and bring us some stuff. And he's going to make sure the car goes back to its owner, before you ask," Gail told her.

Holly raised her eyebrows. It sounded like this Chris guy was going to jump into action, whoever he was. He and Gail must be pretty close, if he was willing to drop everything and help out on such short notice. Not to mention that the blonde clearly had absolute confidence in him, given her earlier speech about not being able to trust anyone. She couldn't help feeling a little bit jealous of this mystery guy that Gail had failed to mention before. "Sounds like he's a good friend?" she casually asked.

"Yeah, I guess he is. He made me promise to call if I ever needed help and it looks like he's going to come through for us," Gail said, still feeling indebted to Diaz.

"Well if he's close enough that you've memorised his phone number, he's probably close enough to come to the rescue of his damsel in distress," the pathologist replied, and Gail caught the hint of insinuation in her voice.

"Hey," she laughed. "It's nothing like that. I did date Chris for a while…" she tried to explain, but she saw Holly frown at that confession so hurriedly corrected herself; "but it wasn't really serious. We weren't right for each other and it was a long time ago. And besides, I am not interested whatsoever in him anymore,"

Holly nodded, knowing her jealously was ridiculous but not being able to help it.

"I know your phone number off by heart too," Gail offered, with a cheeky grin.

"Really?" the brunette asked, and the cop rattled off the number to prove her claim, leaving Holly rather impressed.

As the waiter bought them more coffee, Gail swiped a pen out of his back pocket and started scrawling on a napkin. She handed it over to Holly when she was done and the pathologist stared at the list she had made.

"Seriously, what are you, some sort of Rain Man?" she asked, realising it was a set of phone numbers.

Gail shrugged. "I'm good with phone numbers. When we were kids, if we were going on a long drive for a holiday or seeing relatives, my Mom would give Steve and I a few pages of the phone book. We had to memorise it and she would test us when we got there. Sucked if you got the 'S' section. Too many Smiths," she reflected.

Holly made a face, "That sounds like a fun family game," she said, not sure if the blonde was making it up.

"Peck Police Training started at an early age. My mother is delightfully pushy," Gail said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Anyway, that's just in case," she continued, indicating the list. "You know, in case something happens to me and we get split up. You can trust those people; call them. Chris and Oliver work with me at the station. And Sanderson's number obviously. I'm sure he will be on his feet soon…" Gail's voice trailed off at the mention of her injured colleague. The atmosphere nosedived once more as both women remembered not only the danger of their situation, but the fact they didn't know what had happened to their friend.

Holly folded the napkin into quarters and tucked it safely into her back pocket, not knowing what to say. She felt an icy prickle run up the back of her neck and couldn't help looking around to see if someone was watching them.

"Have you got any cash on you?" Gail asked, changing the subject and breaking the disquiet.

The doctor dug through the pockets of her jeans and came up with a few notes. She also added ten dollars from the 'borrowed' jacket she was now wearing. "About sixty bucks," she said, after a quick count.

Gail nodded. She had just under a couple of hundred on her, after forcing Sanderson to pay up the past few weeks' worth of poker debts he had accrued earlier that night. She knew her emergency stash contained five hundred dollars so together with whatever Chris could come up with, at least they had a decent amount to work with.

"Okay," she said. "We'd better go buy something to put on your feet, before anyone notices the smell,"

Holly rolled her eyes at Gail's attempt at teasing, kind of thinking now wasn't the time for it. But when the blonde held out a hand to help her up and then didn't let go as they left the coffee house, she soon forgave her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later, they were thundering down the freeway in Chris' Jeep. Both women felt relief upon leaving the city; it was almost as if crossing the boundary was like escaping the eyes that were watching out for them. Holly's shoulders dropped as the tension she hadn't realised she was carrying abated somewhat and this time when she asked Gail where they were going, there wasn't the same note of panic in her voice.

"Oliver has a cabin; it's his midlife crisis or something. It's actually pretty nice though, now he's done all the work. I figured we could hide out there. I don't think anyone would link me to it," Gail explained.

"And Oliver is another of your friends from work, right?" Holly asked, trying to place the name. Considering Gail had mentioned that she wasn't close with her fellow cops at Fifteen and felt like a bit of an outsider, there appeared to be a lot of them that would come through for her in a crisis. Holly suspected they were far fonder of Gail than the blonde realised.

"Yeah. I suppose he's my friend, kind of. He's sort of my boss as well because he's a TO. I don't know…I like him because he's not annoying," Gail's account was a confused one and Holly laughed at the way the blonde furrowed her brow when she realised she wasn't making a lot of sense.

"He's your friend," she stated firmly.

"He's my Oliver," Gail clarified, as if that settled the matter.

Holly laughed softly. "Well it's nice that your Oliver let us use his place," she said.

"Oh I haven't asked him! But it'll be fine," the cop said airily, waving her hand about in a dismissive fashion.

Not long after, they pulled up outside of Oliver's cabin and Gail killed the engine. They both sat there for a moment, looking up at the wooden structure. It looked rustic to say the least, the paint patchy in places and the deck appeared like it could do with a good scrub. Gail knew Oliver had put a lot of work into the interior though, and it was pretty cosy inside. However, she was definitely putting Holly on spider watch, just in case.

"Home sweet home," she murmured. "Ten days until the trial,"

"Is that how long we're staying?" Holly asked.

Gail thought about that. All of her thoughts and energy today had gone into getting them somewhere safe without being followed. Now that she had accomplished that, she had no idea what came next. They couldn't go back whilst the asshole who had tipped off Kolarov's people was still around, that was for sure. "Maybe," she said, "Or maybe we can figure out who sold us out and fix this before then," Gail was too tired to think about it right now but underneath her exhaustion there was still the flickering flame of anger and betrayal. She was determined to see someone go down for this, alongside Kolarov and Robak and all the thugs that were messing with Holly's life. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, "Come on. Let's go check it out," she said, getting out of the Jeep.

Holy followed Gail's lead as she strolled around the side of the cabin, finding the wood pile at the back. The blonde yanked out a log from the very bottom left of the stack and turned it over, finding the hollowed out end. She fished a key out and waved it at Holly.

"Have you got some sort of hidden key radar?" Holly asked, with a raise of her eyebrows. That was the second time today Gail had conjured up a key from nowhere.

Gail smirked, thinking that would be pretty cool but alas the explanation was far more mundane; "No, you nerd. Oliver told me where it was,"

"I thought you hadn't asked him about staying?"

"I didn't," Gail said, and she sighed as she led Holly back round the building and climbed the four small steps to the deck that ran around the front of the cabin. "He told me after the Perik thing. I had some time off work and things…things weren't good. He thought I might like to come up here,"

Holly placed her hand on the small of Gail's back as the other woman fiddled with the door. Although Gail had told her the whole kidnapping story, she sensed the blonde was still reticent about bringing it up in conversation. Gail was frightened people would think she was weak if they knew how much it still affected her. "Did you come up?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. Couple of times," Gail popped the door open and turned to face Holly but avoided meeting her eyes.

"Wasn't it scary, out here in the middle of nowhere on your own?" Holly said, shuddering at the thought of it. She reached out her hands to touch Gail's arms, rubbing her palms up the sleeves of her jacket as if it could somehow warm her and take away that sadness.

"Terrifying," the blonde admitted with stark honesty. "But it was more terrifying to wake up at home, screaming in the middle of the night and have everyone crowding round trying to check up on me. It felt like I couldn't breathe. At least here I could yell and cry without being smothered,"

Holly couldn't hold back any longer; she pulled Gail into a tight hug, wrapping her arms right round her back and burying her hand in the hair at the base of her skull. "Do you still have nightmares?"

"Sometimes. When I'm stressed out, or upset," Gail confessed. She scoffed a little as the thought crossed her mind; "Tonight's probably going to be a lot of fun."

"It's okay. I'll be here," Holly told her without giving it a second thought. She pressed a kiss under Gail's ear before releasing her so that the blonde could lead her into the cabin. The knot that always settled deep in Gail's stomach whenever she thought of Perik was unravelling at Holly's casual acceptance about her nightmares. Gail hated the dreams. She had spent so long coming to terms with what had happened that in the daytime she was able to push the kidnapping out of her mind. But in the middle of the night, her weakness showed – she woke up in a cold sweat, tears on her face and shaking limbs and she was furiously embarrassed about it. She had expected Holly to be disappointed in how feeble she really was but the brunette had brushed it off like it was nothing. It felt like the pathologist had lifted a weight from her shoulders.

They stood in the middle of the living room and Holly took in the random knick-knacks that were scattered over the bookshelves and the mantelpiece above the stone fireplace. This was decidedly a man's place she thought as she strolled over to a model of a wooden ship and traced her fingers along the bow. But the cabin was cozy - there was a comfy looking sofa covered with plenty of blankets, a decent kitchenette and it was warm and dry. Most importantly, it was a long way away from masked men with guns and crooked cops. She finished her circuit of the room and stood in front of Gail who was watching her carefully.

"Not exactly a fairy tale," Gail said, with a shrug as she ran her own eyes critically over the space. She felt Holly's hands cup her cheeks and turned back to look deep into the brown eyes that were staring at her.

"No. Still kinda beautiful though," Holly said, with a half-smile and Gail knew she wasn't talking about the cabin. Holly's kiss was delicate and tender, yet sexy as hell and Gail couldn't help moaning softly into it. She gripped the lapel of the doctor's jacket with one hand and ran the other up underneath it, stroking her fingers up and down the base of the other woman's spine. Holly arched her back in response, pushing her hips against Gail and the blonde pushed back, the contact sending a swirl of desire coursing through her lower belly. The cop deepened the kiss, tilting her head so she could lavish attention on the brunette's upper lip and focusing on the humming sound deep in Holly's throat. The verbal reaction was music to her ears and she used her tongue to try and provoke it again. As they stumbled against the door frame however, they broke the kiss and both women paused for a second, looking at each other and breathing hard. The realisation that this wasn't the best time to be getting hot and heavy hit Gail and she gave a shy smile as she released her grip on the brunette.

Holly smiled back and traced her thumb over Gail's cheekbone, the rough texture of the half healed cut from last week, a contrast to the soft and smooth skin she otherwise found there.

"You get the suitcase from the car; I'll get the generator going," Gail said, and Holly nodded, letting the blonde slip out of her arms. She paused for a beat to collect herself and make sure her legs were going to support her when she moved, given the tremble she felt in them. It had only just occurred to her that they were completely on their own out here for the foreseeable future. No more sneaking around, keeping an ear open for Sanderson or the rest of the team and no more quick stolen kisses. Given the heated exchange they had just shared, the hardest part of all this might well be keeping her hands off Gail and not giving in to the impulse to rip her clothes off. She pushed the flood of imagery about that out of her mind and went to empty the Jeep.

By the time Holly had dragged the heavy suitcase to the cabin, Gail had finished with the generator and was able to help her with the luggage.

"In here," Gail said, nudging open a door with her foot and helping Holly heave the suitcase onto the double bed. "You can have this room," the blonde said. "Oliver hasn't gotten round to taking the bunk beds out of the other one yet,"

"No, Gail! I don't mind, you have this one," Holly immediately argued, blushing a little. She had assumed there would only be one bedroom, and she hadn't been too upset about that. But if they were going to be in separate rooms, then she didn't want Gail tucked away in the uncomfortable one.

"Hey, I have to keep an eye out anyway. I probably won't be doing much sleeping," the police officer waved her away and Holly frowned at that.

"Look, there's only you here now, Gail. You can't be 'on duty' like you were before, it's not possible," she pointed out.

"I can keep watch at night then grab a few hours' sleep in the daytime. It's no big deal," Gail said, obstinately. She knew the brunette was right but the thought of letting her guard down and leaving Holly unprotected whilst they slept felt completely alien to her. She hadn't really thought through the mechanics of their situation yet.

"If you're exhausted, you won't be able to do a proper job anyway," Holly pointed out. "In fact, you must be pretty tired now," she said, only just realising Gail had done a full night shift and then spent all morning leading their escape from the city.

Gail nodded. As soon as the pathologist mentioned it, she was acutely aware of her own exhaustion. But she couldn't rest right now as they had only just arrived. If someone did manage to track them, they wouldn't be far behind. "We'll sort it out later," she replied. Holly had the good sense to nod and leave it there.

Later that evening, Holly walked out onto the deck to find Gail leaning against the railing, looking out into the fading light. The blonde had spent most of the afternoon in the same position, after figuring out the location gave her a clear view of the main road all the way to their hideaway which would allow her to spot any approaching cars. She had also spent a couple of hours walking round the immediate area to get her bearings and check for any possible weak points in their defence while Holly trailed behind her, not wanting to stay in the cabin on her own. It was time for the police officer to stop though. Holly herself was feeling tired enough and she knew Gail must be dead on her feet. She couldn't be a cop all day and all night.

"Hey," she said, pointing at Gail's stiff posture "Cop stance."

Gail snorted at the reference to their night in the bar. "Right now I am being a cop. Surely I'm allowed the stance?"

"Nope. It's time to stop," the brunette said, strolling over to stand next to Gail and handing her one of the beers she held in her hand.

The blonde took it without looking, and raised an eyebrow when she saw what it was. "Where did you get this?" she asked.

"I found half a case in the storeroom. I figured your Oliver wouldn't mind and I think we've earnt it," Holly told her.

Gail hesitated. She shouldn't really be drinking; what if something happened? Holly sensed the reluctance and clinked her own bottle against the other woman's. "Come on. You're off duty now, Officer Peck,"

"I need to keep focused," Gail demurred, although the thought of sitting down for a while and drinking a beer with Holly was very tempting.

"You can't keep watch all night," Holly pointed out.

"I know. That's what worries me,"

"Look, honey," Holly started and she tucked her arm round the blonde's waist. "I know you feel like you've still got to do your job and protect me, but it's only the two of us here. This is a partnership now…you can't be my bodyguard 24/7. We're just going to have to be very careful; like you were on the way here. Nobody knows where we are, Gail; we'll be fine tonight,"

Holly felt Gail relax against her a little and the cop moved her own arm from where it rested on the railing to drop it over Holly's shoulders.

"Are you calling me honey again?" she asked, with the quirk of a grin on her face.

"See, Hedgehog, you're so tired you're imagining things," Holly smiled back.

Gail rolled her eyes at the stupid nickname. "I know you're right. It's just…" and she trailed off, not knowing quite how to admit it.

"It's difficult to let go?" Holly finished her thought for her, and Gail nodded. That was exactly it. She felt like it was her job to protect the doctor and as soon as she dropped her guard she knew she would feel guilty that she wasn't doing that job properly. But she was also well aware that now that they were alone, she couldn't be on duty all the time.

"You've done your job today, Gail. You've done a really good job," Holly told her, and tightened her arm around the other woman's waist, squeezing her hip with her fingers.

Gail nodded and finally looked away from the road, "The light is going anyway," she said.

The brunette also nodded, "It'll be okay. And one beer won't completely destroy your ninja abilities! Trust me, I'm a doctor! Well unless you're a lightweight and can't hold your alcohol?" Holly had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she dangled her own bottle in front of the cop.

Frowning, Gail took a swig of the beer in her hand, "Gail Peck is not a lightweight," she announced. Holly was right. It was one drink; she could still drive and run and think and all of the other things she might need to do if something did happen. And if all her careful planning from earlier worked out, nothing would happen anyway. They were safe here. The only possible weak point in the plan was Chris, who knew she was in his Jeep and that she had been at the mall. If anyone found that out, they could potentially trace their route through any CCTV cameras they had passed by. But that would be a long, difficult and mind numbing task that would take a lot of manpower and would still only give them the general direction Gail had taken. And anyway, she trusted Chris or she wouldn't have got him involved.

"I look forward to testing that theory with you one day," Holly stated. "But in the meantime, you just need to relax for a bit," and she tugged on Gail's side, pulling her over to one of the large wooden armchairs stood against the wall of the cabin. "Sit down," she instructed. The blonde did as she was told whilst Holly went back inside.

The doctor re-emerged with a couple of thick blankets to ward off the chill that was beginning to creep into the air as the sun went down. She threw one over Gail before she dropped down next to her and wriggled into the small space between the cop and the arm of the chair. She sported a grin as she draped the other blanket over both their upper bodies.

"Can't you get your own chair?" the blonde grumbled, but her actions showed she wasn't serious when she shifted over to make room for Holly. It was a tight fit with Holly partially on Gail's lap - her right leg was thrown over Gail's left - but when the pathologist snaked an arm round her shoulders and cuddled in, the last thing on Gail's mind was to complain. She balanced her beer on the large, flat arm of the chair and wrapped her arms round Holly.

"No," Holly happily replied. It had been another tough day; even worse than their catastrophic attempt at going for a run last weekend. But at least she was going to end it tucked up in Gail's arms and that was a very pleasant and unexpected bonus. Had it really only been five days since she had cracked and kissed the blonde cop in her bedroom? It felt like an age had passed since then. And now they were hidden away at a cabin in the woods, just the two of them. If it wasn't for the awful situation that had prompted this, it would be perfect. She hadn't quite gotten her head around today's events and she was worried, despite her earlier reassurances to Gail. Nobody knew where they were; she was going to be a no-show at work and if something happened to Kate or her parents then nobody would be able to find her to tell her. If these guys couldn't get to Holly as she was no longer an easy target, would they put more effort into tracking Kate down? If there was an inside man, surely he or she could go into the system and figure out where her family was hiding?

"Are you okay?" Gail asked, concerned about the sudden stiffness she could feel in Holly's body.

"This corrupt cop? Will he be able to find out where my family are?" the doctor said, voicing her concerns.

Gail was quick to reassure her, "No. I doubt it. They're in the official Witness Protection Program; unless you work for them you can't get access to any records,"

"But they found out everything about me. What if they break into the system? Or what if they do work for Witness Protection?"

"It's not possible. Even their own officers can't see the details of cases that don't belong to them. And they don't keep information splashed all over the system; everything is on a 'need to know' basis and encrypted. We don't have some sort of massive Police Google where you can look up whatever you like," Gail told her, rubbing her hand across the brunette's leg to comfort her.

"Okay. You're sure, right?" Holly was unable to stop herself asking one more time.

"Yep. Besides, I think the traitor is closer to home," Gail said, darkly. Whilst keeping watch today she had thought long and hard about who could have sold them out and had come to the awful conclusion that it had to be someone on the team. Nobody else would have the exact knowledge they needed to get at Holly, particularly the specific location of the safe house and the information that dictated the way they had been attacked. Gail had turned it over and over in her mind, desperately wanting it not to be true but in the end, she couldn't see any other possibility.

"You really think so?" Holly asked, still finding it hard to believe one of the five people she had spent the last month with would exchange her life for a stack of cash, or even to hide something. Well, four people as she obviously wasn't counting Gail.

"I can't see how it could be an outsider," the cop replied with a shake of her head. She didn't want to believe it any more than Holly did.

Looking directly at Gail, the brunette's only response was to ask the million dollar question: "Who? Which one?"

The blonde sighed and rested her head on Holly's shoulder. That question had been swirling round her brain all day and she still didn't know the answer. She thought she had narrowed it down, but nothing was clear in her mind. Events were all jumbled and information was tangled in a blurry fog of thoughts and reactions. She knew it was the stress of the day and the effects of an adrenaline high. She needed time to think.

"I dunno," she answered, sounding downbeat. "I'll figure it out tomorrow. Right now I can barely figure out my own name,"

Holly kissed the top of her head, understanding exactly what Gail meant. They were both exhausted and only having a meal made up of some of the canned foods that were stored in the cupboard didn't help. Beans, Irish stew and pineapple wasn't the best combination. They were going to have to visit a store tomorrow which Gail was nervous about. "I know how you feel," Holly declared. "Tough day,"

She felt Gail nod against her, and heard the cop's muffled reply; "How are you doing?" she asked.

"Truthfully? I think I'm in shock," Holly told her as she felt the blonde's arms tighten around her.

"Yeah. This is not really how I expected this assignment to turn out," Gail agreed.

"What did you expect?" Holly asked, curiously. They had never actually discussed how Gail ended up on this job. The pathologist obviously knew she wasn't part of the team from Vancouver and was a patrol officer rather than a protection specialist but that was all she knew.

"I thought I would be babysitting some weirdo and be bored stupid with nothing to do," Gail scoffed at how wrong she had been.

"Hmmm. You certainly got more than you bargained for then," Holly said, raising her eyebrows and looking down at the cop from her slightly higher perch.

Gail met her gaze and watched the last hazy light from the sunset sparkle in those dark brown eyes. She felt the warmth of Holly's legs draped over hers under the blanket, and ran her left hand under her shirt and up her side. She felt the smooth skin of her stomach give way to harder ribcage and quickly redirected her hand back down before she moved into completely unchartered territory. Even though she didn't visibly react to Holly's reflexive jolt in response to her touch, she didn't miss it and she filed that information away for future use. "So much more," she murmured, not breaking eye contact with the brunette as she moved closer and met her lips in a deep and intense kiss.

They broke apart when they ran out of air and Gail searched Holly's face for any signs of the worry and stress she knew was present in both their minds. All she saw was a contented smile.

"Are you sure you're okay? I did promise you could freak out on me later," she reminded the other woman.

Holly shrugged. "I'm alright. I'm not going to freak out; I think you've already stopped that. And I know it's really not the thing to be focused on given the circumstances…but this?" Holly moved her hand back and forth between them, trying to indicate she was talking about the two of them. "This is nice,"

Gail nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. She was enjoying being wrapped up in blankets with Holly, curled around each other like they were on some sort of romantic getaway. She wouldn't have chosen the events that led them here but being enveloped in this contented bubble was a more than happy end to a truly dreadful day. Not to mention the excitement she was trying to temper down knowing that she was going to be alone here with Holly for a week or more. As soon as her mind strayed into what that could possibly lead to, she felt her heartbeat increase a little and she had to forcibly think of something else. Now was not the time to listen to her libido.

The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence and stayed cocooned in the blankets, sipping their beer whilst they watched the last slivers of daylight fade away into black and listened to the sounds of nocturnal creatures rustling in the woods. It was a long time before either of them stirred and it was only when Holly felt Gail shiver against her that she realised it had grown quite cold despite being cuddled under the blankets.

"Do you want to go inside?" she asked.

"In a bit," Gail replied and Holly was ready to chide her again for trying to stay on watch. But when the blonde tucked her face into the crook of Holly's neck, the doctor sensed there was something else on her mind. She felt Gail inhale deeply against her skin and smiled at the intimacy of it.

Sure enough after a few more minutes, the police officer spoke up. "Holly?"

"Yes, honey?" she asked, prompting the other woman. The fact that Gail didn't comment on the endearment was another sign something was wrong. She felt Gail's lips mumble against her neck but couldn't make out the words. "I can't hear you, sorry," Holly told her and the blonde leant back a little although she still didn't lift her face to look at the pathologist.

"Will Sanderson be okay?" she asked, her voice wavering.

Holly's heart dropped. She bit her lip not knowing how to answer because the truth was going to hurt. She had been thinking about Scott ever since they left the safe house and it sounded like Gail was even more worried. Given the choice, Holly wouldn't have left him there. He had been badly injured and needed immediate medical attention. They didn't know how long the emergency teams would take to get there so as the only medical professional on site, she should have stayed.

"I don't know," she replied and she heard Gail gulp loudly. The guilt settled in the pit of her stomach; guilt about Sanderson and for Gail. She knew the blonde had become close to Scott; the two of them made a good team, always ribbing each other and bouncing ideas off one another. Holly would be left reeling if Scott didn't make but she knew Gail would be absolutely devastated. What made her feel worse was that she could have helped prevent it.

"I'm so sorry," the brunette said. "But I just don't know. He lost an awful lot of blood and I couldn't see properly to tell where it was coming from. I think he may have nicked an artery. I should have stayed, Gail, I should have helped him more,"

"It's not your fault. You didn't shoot him," Gail said, and this time she did raise her eyes and looked directly at the pathologist, her eyes glistening from unshed tears.

"I know, but…."

"No. It wasn't your fault. I made you leave; if anything, it's my fault if something happens to him," Gail's tears spilled out over her cheeks and she lifted her hand to her mouth, trying to hide the quiver in her lips. "Just like Jerry," she whispered.

Holly immediately gathered her closer and rubbed her palm across the blonde's back as she held her tightly. "It's not your fault either. You're right. Scott wanted me to leave too, remember? And he knew he was hurt. You did your job Gail, you kept me safe," she soothed.

Gail didn't answer, keeping her face hidden against the other woman's chest. She felt pathetic for letting Holly see her like this, especially with what the doctor had been through today. Holly was the one who was supposed to be breaking down, not her.

"Andy knew what to do. She was keeping the pressure on and I think those sheets you found were doing a better job than her sweater. There's nothing else we could have done there, not without proper light and supplies…" Holly tried desperately to reassure the distraught cop and in doing so realised there wasn't much else she could have done even if she had stayed. That didn't feel like much consolation of course, but it was true.

"Is he going to die?" Gail asked. "I'd rather know,"

This time, Holly answered straight away. "I honestly don't know, honey. There is a chance he might…" and at that, the blonde let out a noise that could be described as a sob so Holly quickly continued; "But there is a far bigger chance he'll be okay! The cops were on their way, they would have taken help straight to him. As long as the bleeding slowed, then I think he had time to get to the hospital and they would have fixed him up," Holly knew that wasn't the definite promise Gail wanted, nonetheless it was the best she could give. She couldn't tell her that Scott was going to be fine if there was a tiny chance he wouldn't be.

"He's my friend," Gail whispered.

"I know," replied Holly, and she kissed the top of the blonde's head. They sat together in the wooden armchair with the pathologist stroking Gail's hair long after she stopped crying. When she felt Gail's breathing slow down, she nudged her gently.

"Come on. Let's go inside," Holly said.

Gail sat back and nodded. She let Holly lead her inside the cabin, the other woman only letting go of hand once the door was shut behind them. "I'll get you some water," Holly told her, disappearing into the kitchen. When the brunette came back, she caught Gail yawning widely.

Passing her the glass, she smiled at the exhausted cop. "I think we're both ready for an early night," she suggested.

"I'm tired," Gail nodded. She had planned on staying up so she could keep an eye on things, but she was so weary.

"It's been a long day," Holly said, hovering at the other woman's side, not wanting to leave her standing there. She could see how drained Gail was, yet she was worried the blonde would try and stave off sleep if she left her hanging round in the living room and turned in for the night.

But Gail shook herself into action; "You go and use the bathroom first, I'll see if Chris managed to pack anything remotely resembling nightwear," she directed.

When Holly emerged from the bathroom, she found the blonde shoving a heavy chest of drawers up against the door. She put her shoulder into it and helped manoeuvre the furniture into place, quirking an eyebrow at Gail as she did so.

"Just in case," Gail shrugged. The cop grabbed the clothes she had picked out for Holly from where she had tossed them on the couch. "They should fit you okay," she said, handing them to the brunette.

"Thanks. It looks like your friend Chris did well with the packing?" Holly asked, glancing over the sleepwear.

"He didn't pack any socks," Gail answered, rolling her eyes. Yet another reason they would have to visit the store tomorrow.

Holly laughed. "It could have been worse," she said and the blonde had to concede that one. They smiled at one another, lost in the moment until Gail found she had to look away. This intensity they shared was like nothing she had felt before. It was exhilarating - but also scary.

"I'll just be…" she said trailing off but indicating the bathroom door before making her escape in that direction.

When she re-emerged ten minutes later, she expected to find Holly had gone to bed but instead the pathologist stood in the doorway to the master bedroom, propped up against the frame and looking pensive. She had taken off her glasses and somehow that made her seem younger and more vulnerable even.

"You okay?" Gail asked, wanting to make sure that the other woman wasn't going to have the panicked freak out that she had seemed on the edge of earlier in the day. After all, the doctor had just spent her evening reassuring her about Sanderson and holding her tight whilst she cried. She owed her one.

"Yeah…" Holly replied, her voice slow and uncertain.

Gail raised her eyebrows, as if to question that but when Holy didn't say anything else, all she could do was nod. "Okay. If you're sure. Goodnight then, I guess?" She hesitated a moment, feeling awkward but she made her mind up and quickly crossed the room to give the brunette a peck on the lips.

That peck soon turned into something deeper and when they did pull apart, Holly blurted it out; "Stay with me tonight? In here?"

Gail blinked in surprise. "Together?" she asked.

Strangely, the blonde's stupid question pushed away the nervousness that she had felt after spending all evening secretly debating whether or not she should ask Gail to share the room. "Yes, together!" she stated firmly and full of confidence. "I'm scared and you're upset. I don't think we should be alone,"

Gail was still reeling somewhat. She hadn't expected that at all, but she really wasn't averse to the idea. Actually, it filled her with a soothing warmth however she wasn't sure if it was the most sensible course of action. She took Holly's hand and shyly played with her fingers. "Should two people who aren't having a thing share a bed, really?" she queried.

Holly thought about that before replying; "Technically I think two people who aren't having a thing could share a bed. But two people who are nearly having a thing maybe shouldn't. But so what?"

"Hmm. What about two people who were thinking of having a thing in future?" the cop asked with a frown.

Holly rolled her eyes, "Will you stop overthinking? I don't really care what we should be doing. I want you to sleep in here tonight, so I'm asking you to,"

"I want to," Gail insisted, yet the unspoken 'but' hung in the air between them

"Just to sleep. Nothing else," the brunette quickly clarified. She remembered Gail's analogy about running from emergency situations and now was really not a good time to send her skittish cat sprinting out the door.

"Yeah, I know," replied Gail, colouring a little with the knowledge that Holly had picked up on those particular nerves. "All that I meant is sharing a bed probably won't do much good for our agreement that we're not having a thing yet,"

"Gail, I think we're long past pretending that we're not having a thing," Holly announced.

The cop stared into those deep and compelling brown eyes and knew the other woman was right. She grasped Holly's hand more firmly and tugged her into the bedroom.

"Come on Lunchbox. Let's go to bed,"

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A/N 2: I cheated a bit, sorry. Oliver didn't get his cabin till season five. But hey, timelines on Rookie Blue were always a little screwy, right? I'm just following that lead.