Okay, so, I really couldn't get this chapter to flow how I wanted it to. Hopefully the next one will be substantially smoother.
Also thanks to everyone that reviewed chapter 1. Please feel free to leave more awesome reviews, or if you so chose, to bring out your 'Gail' side and leave rather biting ones. All are welcome!
Friday morning Gail awoke with a start. Something just felt off. She grabbed her alarm clock and sprung from her bed. She was out the door in minutes, and made it to the station in record time. Somehow she managed to slide into the back of parade only a couple minutes behind schedule. Frank didn't even notice, thank god. The last thing she needed was to be stuck manning booking all day for being late. As soon as parade was over she ran from the room back to the locker room determined to brush her teeth before heading out. Oliver caught her on the way out.
"Peck!"
"Hey Oliver, welcome back! Do you want to grab lunch later? I have to go find whoever it is I am riding with now."
"Yup. That would be me. Donuts now or later?"
Gail was excited to see him back in the station, but couldn't help be curious as to his quick return to full duty. "Wait. You are back on full duty?"
He shot her a look and pulled her along towards the sally port. "Well yeah. I am fine, just took a couple days off to appease the masses. Besides, who else is going to bust all of the city's grow ops with you?"
Gail couldn't help but smile. "Well in that case, donuts now. But I am driving."
Holly had been stuck in her office all day finishing up three different reports. She had been lucky enough not to get stuck with any incoming autopsies, and had time to catch up on paperwork. She had just finished a rather bland sandwich when she got a text from Gail.
Gail: Lunch?
Holly: Sorry, no time, I have endless paperwork.
Gail: Well I'll break the bad news to Ollie then.
Holly: Oliver is back? That is great news. But I don't even have time for a break if I want to leave on time tonight, or want to be off tomorrow.
Gail: Fine party pooper. Speaking of tomorrow…
Holly: You still have to come. Be at my place at 8 so we have time to get to dinner.
Gail: You didn't mention dinner.
Holly: Are you really going to complain about something food related?
Gail: See you tomorrow at 8!
Holly put her phone back in her pocket with a fresh smile on her face. Gail could be such a whiner sometimes, but she found it oddly endearing.
Holly finished her reports with no time to spare. She gathered her belongings and made a mad dash out of the door, hoping to avoid any last minute requests. She narrowly avoided running smack into her boss as she was rounding a corner in the process. By the time she got out, through traffic, and back home she was just ready for a relaxing night to herself. Maybe a bath would do her good, take a book with her and just chill. That sounded perfect.
She walked in the door and dropped her stuff on the counter. She wasn't two steps towards the bathroom when her phone rang. She was tempted to just leave it. Sighing to herself, she made her way back to her bag and pulled the phone out, answering before she could look at the caller ID.
"Dr. Stewart."
'Officer Peck.'
"Oh hey Gail. Sorry, I didn't look at who it was."
'Don't be sorry. I was just in the neighborhood, wondering if you wanted to grab a drink.'
She really wasn't in any mood to go out, especially considering tomorrow was going to be a crazy one. But the prospect of getting to see Gail was tempting. They hadn't been able to get together for a few days due to excessively long work hours.
"Well, I really was looking forward to a quiet night. You are more than welcome to come over though. Bring a movie and some food or something?"
'Sounds good. You should come let me in then. I'm at your door.'
Sure enough a quiet knock sounded on her door and when Holly opened it Gail stood before her holding a case of beer and movies.
"Wait, I thought you wanted to go out for a drink? Why do you have that with you?" Holly asked.
Gail pushed her way in the door, handing Holly the beer. "I did, but I also know you well enough to figure you most likely would want to stay in after a long day. So this was plan B." She looked far too proud of her assumptions turning out to be spot on. "I didn't think to bring food though, so do you just want to order in?"
"Yeah that works for me." Holly stated placing the case of beer in the fridge. "I am going to go shower though, I smell like a cave. You know where everything is. Surprise me with food."
Gail padded into the kitchen and pulled Holly's stack of take-out menus from the drawer. "Deal. But no complaints as to what I pick. Now go shower, you really do stink." With that Gail whacked her in the ass with the menus and gave her a push out of the kitchen for good measure.
When Holly emerged from her shower she found an empty living room and kitchen. Slightly confused she walked towards the guest room while toweling off her hair. Once she realized it too was void of a certain snarky blonde, she became a little concerned. She looked around and noticed Gail's jacket and bag were gone as well. She was about to text her to make sure she wasn't abducted by aliens when the door opened and Gail slid in carrying a take-out bag.
"Fucking hell. Traffic is a nightmare." Gail tossed Holly's car keys at her and placed the bag on the counter. She immediately started dispensing the contents in no orderly fashion onto the surface. Holly approached her with mock anger, dangling the keys in front of her.
"And who exactly told you that you could help yourself to my keys?"
Gail chuckled to herself. "Oh please Holly. Like you actually care. Besides I couldn't very well leave the door unlocked while you were in the shower. With my luck I'd get back to find some psycho had chopped you into bits. And I really wasn't in the mood to do all that paperwork tonight. Which meant I needed a key to get back in." Gail strode past the mildly offended brunette, and made her way to her side of Holly's couch.
"Seriously Gail? Paperwork? That is your big concern about finding me in teeny tiny pieces, inconveniencing paperwork. Way to make a girl feel wanted." Holly plopped down beside Gail with her own carton of food.
Gail feigned annoyance and replied to Holly in the most strained tone she could muster with a straight face. "Well if you really must know, I guess I might be upset a little bit if you were to be dismembered. It would really put a damper on my evenings. I would have to make an effort to go find another hot lab geek to spend all my time with. That would be almost as inconvenient as all the paperwork. And I guess I kinda like you. Sorta."
"Wow, don't get all sappy on me now. Your Grinch sized heart might explode." They both giggled at Holly's response, and fell into a happy calm.
They spent the next couple of hours watching some sy-fy show Holly loved. Gail would never admit it but Holly knew she enjoyed it just as much. There was nothing really different about their evening but Holly felt familiar warmth in her chest. A feeling that was purely Gail's to own. She couldn't deny the effect Gail's words had on her. She knew beneath the teasing that Gail was admitting that deep down, Holly meant something to her. That if something were to happen, Gail would truly be upset, she was important to her. Then there was the fact that Gail had happened to throw out the word 'hot' while describing her.
By the end of the third episode Holly had fallen asleep and Gail was not far behind. After waking Holly gently, Gail offered her a hug and left with a promise to be on time the following night. Holly locked up behind Gail and made her way to bed, thoughts of Gail heavily on her mind. She tried her best to pull the thoughts from her head, which proved completely useless. And somehow that made Holly smile even more.
Gail's day was nothing special. Paperwork, more paperwork, useless conversations, and of course paperwork. She couldn't decide if she was looking forward to getting off of work, or dreading it knowing what the evening held. By the time she was heading out of the station she barely had an hour to get home, change, and get to Holly's place. She opted for a simple outfit, not knowing exactly where they would be spending the evening. Gail slipped into a sweater, her favorite skin tight black pants, and threw her boots on. She couldn't seem to drag herself away from the mirror though. For some reason she felt the need to look really good tonight. She was quite aware this boiled down more specifically wanting to look really good for Holly, however the reason why escaped her. She was around her all of the time, and usually not looking her best. For peat sakes, Holly had to literally drag her ass out of the spare bed at least once a week, yet here she was gazing at herself in the mirror, not quite sure why she cared so much right now.
Gail pushed the thoughts from her mind and dragged herself out of the room and into her car. The drive to Holly's was short and she took the stairs up to her floor two and a time. She didn't even bother knocking on the door; instead she just waltzed right in. Holly was lying on the couch clicking away at her phone. She didn't even glance at the door to see who it was before she greeted Gail from the couch.
"Holly, how do you know I wasn't a robber, or an axe murderer? They could have just strolled right in and shanked you in the kidney." Gail teased poking Holly roughly in the side.
Holly giggled to herself at Gail's attempt to be protective. For half a second she fought the urge to say something sarcastic back, and found that she was incapable of such things.
"Well first of all, if you were a determined burglar or serial killer, I highly doubt that a door would make much difference if you really wanted to get through it. Secondly, that is not where your kidneys are." Holly placed her hands firmly against Gail in the correct kidney location. "This is where they are." She squeezed gently and held her hands in place for a second longer.
Gail swatted her away lightly and stepped back. She just now managed to get a full view of Holly's attire. She was dressed casually but still managed to look stunning. Gail thought back and realized she couldn't pinpoint a single time that Holly didn't look stunning. Even the nights when they would be curled up on the couch in sweats, she still looked amazing.
Holly got up from the couch, grabbed her bag and keys and led Gail back out into the night. After a small wrestling match in the parking lot, Holly succumbed to Gail's devious ways and handed the keys over, letting her drive them to the restaurant. It was a small tavern in the entertainment district. Gail had been meaning to hit it up, but always fell short of actually going. It was low key enough, but still had a fun atmosphere.
Holly led her over to a table near the back. She quickly introduced Gail to the small group, who welcomed her just as quickly in return. Gail was glad they weren't the hug when you meet type, but instead turned out to be the "nice to meet you, have a shot" type. Her apprehension fell away within the first few minutes. Everyone there seemed to be pretty cool. There was Danielle, the bride to be who is a photographer and avid skydiver. Her and her fiancée Allie also owned a café that Gail had actually been to a few times. Kate, an ex-banker turned tattoo artist, married to a "failure of a husband" with three kids, turned out to have enough of a bite that she could probably run circles around Gail in a sarcastic battle of wits. Then there was Alexi who was a doctor at a hospital across town, whom Holly had gone to med school with. And last but not least was Morgan, who had a worse potty mouth than Gail, which of course earned her points.
They ordered a round of drinks and some food, then decided on a game of 'I've never' to get everyone "inappropriately familiar with each other", in the words of Alexi. By the time the food arrived they were all tied up. Gail and Kate had been gunning for each other the whole game so far, both determined to be the last one standing. After a brutal lead in Kate's favor, Holly took pity on Gail and began feeding her questions she knew would knock Kate down. This particular round Holly had hit jackpot with her offer.
"Never have I ever been arrested." Holly said, looking Kate straight in the eyes. As expected she was the only one to drink and shot a menacing glare in her and Gail's direction. Pleased with the results Gail reached under the table to give Holly's thigh a subtle squeeze.
"Okay Peck. Never have I ever arrested someone." Kate shot over at her. Gail drank and shook her head at Kate. The rest of the table took their turn and when it was Gail's shot she looked at Holly for help and was only met with a shrug. It seemed like her ammo was out. Grasping for straws she made a wild guess.
"Hmm…okay. Never have I ever done any drugs." Gail was pleased to see that Kate's glass went up as she drank. Her shot in the dark paid off. A movement to her left caught her attention though. "Wait, Holly you can't be serious."
"It was in college Gail relax. I was not running around shooting up heroin or anything. I may have owned a bong for a period of time while I was pre-med. That's it." Holly looked a little embarrassed actually.
Gail bust up in laughter at the look of anxiety on Holly's face. "Don't look so scared Hols. It's not the end of the world. I was just surprised that's all. You have been the most innocent out of all of us tonight so far, so it just caught me off guard. Besides you already know way too much about my college shenanigans to think I would think any less of you for smoking a little in college."
Holly visibly relaxed and the game continued. Alexi and Danielle went next, both striking gold and resulting in Kate drinking. Neither of them had been gunning for her but she obviously though so. Knowing that the majority of the women at the table were lesbians she started coming after them all in revenge.
"Ok fine then. Never have I ever done anything sexual with a woman." Glasses around the table went up. Gail began to raise her glass and put it back down on the table.
"Wait. Define sexual exactly." Kate's eyebrows rose at her question and Holly gave her a curious look.
Kate looked way too pleased with herself. She thought a moment before giving her answer. "Well kissing doesn't count. So I would say anything that involved any clothes being removed or hands doing things under clothes. Not necessarily just sex."
With all eyes on her now, Gail slowly raised her glass up to her lips and downed the remainder of her whiskey. She set the glass back down rather abrasively and turned towards Morgan, whose turn it was next. Holly put a hand up to stop the other woman from her turn however.
She turned back to Gail and gave her that sideways grin and devious look. "Okay Officer, explain yourself. I had to bear all with the drug use so it's your turn to spill the beans."
"No way. No way in hell." Gail however, was not let off that easy. It seemed she had met her match in Holly's friends who would not let her escape the story. "Okay, fine, fine. It was right before I went to the academy. I was at a party and super wasted. One of my friends just got dumped and she was freaking out. So we are sitting on some random person's bed and she is going on and on about this guy. And being the socially inept person I am, had no idea what to say to her, so I am just sitting there awkwardly. And then all of a sudden, she is all over me, and I'm completely pinned underneath her on this bed. At first I was just completely taken back, it happened so quickly, but then I just kind of went for it and we both ended up making out for like 20 minutes. Then that same guy she was crying over burst in and she ran out of the room and just left me there all awkward like. That's when I realized that I had no shirt or bra on anymore. So that is my story. Satisfied?"
The table nodded in unison. Gail chanced a glance at Holly who was just smirking back at her. She had to admit, she wasn't used to getting beat at her own game, but it was nice to have the challenge. Their checks came shortly after and they made their way out of the restaurant and to their cars. Gail and Kate began talks of a rematch immediately, before they decided on something a lot more ominous. Next time they decided to combine their efforts to beat out the rest of the group together. Gail parted ways with Kate and made her way back over to Holly's car.
Holly couldn't help herself as they got in the car. "So then Ms. Fleece and Backpacks, ready for the strip club?"
Gail didn't miss a beat. "Bring it on Hols. But if we run into your dealer there, I am going to have to step out. I don't want to have to bust you. It would really put a damper on the evening if you ended up in handcuffs."
Holly looked over at Gail and wiggled her eyes suggestively. "Oh, I have a feeling if you ever put me in handcuffs it wouldn't put a damper on the night at all."
"Oh my god Holly, you are insane." Gail said, rolling her eyes at Holly.
"Well I do spend a lot of time with you." Holly winked at Gail. She put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot.
