Kind of got wrapped up in this chapter and unintentionally wrote the whole thing last night. One of those times where you look at the clock and see that it is 3am kind of things. I guess I just got sucked in. With that, thanks again to all of the amazing people who keep me motivated to write all night long. Without you I would be forced to go to sleep at a respectable time and we wouldn't have this update here to distract us from everything.


"Holly? Are you okay?" Gail's face peaked over the top of the mattress, and Holly found blue eyes trained on her motionless body. She made an effort to sit and decided the floor was a much more lucrative spot.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Her voice was barely a whisper. This dry mouth thing was really starting to be a pain in the ass. She cleared her throat and continued. "I am pretty sure I am still drunk though."

"Uh, you think?" Holly was too out of it to offer any sarcasm back in return. Instead she just closed her eyes and hoped for sleep to find her before her last meal decided to make its grand reentrance into the world. She listened as Gail got out of bed, and started moving about the room. She could sense her in her proximity but didn't dare try to open her eyes. Holly was almost asleep again when she felt her head lift in Gail's hand. She felt a straw at her lips and gladly took the offered water. She laid her head back finding a newly added pillow below her. At the edge of consciousness, Holly let her senses dull, barely noticing the blanket Gail draped over her before straying from the room.


It was midafternoon when Holly peeled her eyes back again. The room was almost pitch black. Gail had shut the blackout curtains and turned the lights off, leaving the door cracked so just enough light could filter in for when Holly woke. She turned on her side, back straining to right itself after her nap on the hard wood floor. She reached for the bottle of water Gail had left next to her and finished the contents quickly. A few more minutes passed before Holly dared to get off the floor. The room was no longer spinning and she was fairly confident she wasn't about to puke all over the place, but her brain had not backed off in its attempt to bust out of her skull. Holly stumbled blindly to the bathroom, suddenly realizing she had no idea where her glasses were. She tore the medicine cabinet open and pulled a bottle of painkillers from the shelf.

After a quick shower she trudged back out into the living room, finding Gail in the kitchen, plating up scrambled eggs. Holly flopped herself into a chair greeting Gail quietly.

Gail turned at Holly's voice offering a small smile and a good morning, even though it was nowhere close to being an appropriate time of day for such a greeting. Holly smiled back and pointed towards the coffee pot behind Gail. Gail obliged, pouring a cup for Holly and placing the mug, a glass of water, and the plate of eggs in front of her. Holly dug into the food eagerly.

Gail excused herself to go clean up while Holly ate. She sat in the quiet, listening to the soft lull of Gail showering in the other room. She took the moment to herself to reflect back to night previous. She hadn't exactly blacked out, but she was definitely having trouble deciphering exactly what parts of the night were accurate, and which were remnants of her dreams throughout the night. Her playback of the evening was cut short by Gail's reappearance. She was toweling her hair off as she strutted out of Holly's bedroom, freshly clothed in a tight t-shirt and pajama pants. Holly had to put in some serious effort to pull her eyes off of the other woman. Instead she set about clearing her plate from the counter and loading the dishwasher.

Her thoughts of Gail were still racing when she found the woman in question's hands wrap around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Gail turned her around and kissed her gently on the cheek. Holly smiled warmly at her in return and pulled her back into a hug. They stood silently clinging fiercely onto each other in Holly's dim kitchen for a small eternity, only breaking apart at the sound of Gail's phone buzzing. Gail made a grab for the phone and answered irritably. Holly watched as her expression turned from agitation to concern and finally to a happy relief. Gail promised to call the mystery person later and placed her phone back on the counter.

Holly glanced at her, curious. Gail gave her one of the most sincere smiles she had ever seen from her. "That was Dov. Chloe's surgery went well. They think she is going to make a full recovery. Sam is doing really well too. Dov said they might even release him early if he keeps making progress."

"Oh Gail, that is great news." Holly reached out, placing her palms tenderly on each side of the blonde's face. "I'm so glad they are doing better." She let her thumbs rub soft circles along Gail's cheekbones, eager to offer a small comfort. Gail reached out taking one of Holly's hands in her own and placing a light kiss on the back of her hand.


They spent what was left of the afternoon watching TV in Holly's bed. Holly kept twisting and turning, determined to get comfortable. Gail seemed to finally take pity on her. "Hols, what is wrong. You look like you are laying on a porcupine or something."

"My fucking back is killing me. I think falling off the bed and then spending a solid 5 or 6 hours laying in an awkward position on it might have had a small effect on me." She laughed at her own joke only to wince at the sharp pain it caused her.

Gail got up off the bed, returning with the lotion from the night before. She motioned for Holly to lie down on her stomach. Holly gave Gail a smile and a 'thanks' as she pulled her t-shirt off and planted herself face down into the comforter. She closed her eyes the second Gail's hands found her again. She could feel the tension falling from her instantly. It didn't take long before Gail unclipped her bra and pulled the straps down Holly's shoulders. Gail's hands worked at her knots, focusing on the spots Holly needed the most. She felt Gail's attention focus on the spine momentarily before trailing down to her sides, tracing patterns on her body Holly instantly recognized belongs to the ink imprinted in her flesh.

"Tell me about them." She heard a simple curiosity in Gail's voice, maybe even a little adoration. Holly felt a smile play on her face. She sat up slightly, pulling a sheet with her, carefully not to flash Gail in the process.

She took one of Gail's hands and placed the fingertips onto her left side, using Gail's fingers she traced out the design. "This one I got when I was 19. I had just come out to my parents, and they didn't take it so well. My mother told me to leave, my father tried to stop her, but she got her way. I left that night and slept in my car. I spent a few days struggling to find a place to stay. My grandfather took me in until I could find a place of my own. The first night I stayed with him he told me that each moment we exist we make a choice. We chose to breathe, to sit, to stand, to love, to hate. But none of those choices can ever fully form us, or break us. They are part of a whole. We can only learn from them, and choose wiser the next day. He promised me that my mother may have made a choice that night that broke my heart, but she had made a million choices before that moment that were out of love, and compassion, and selflessness. And he promised me that she would make choices in the future based on those as well. But tonight she had made a choice out of fear. And while it hurt, it would neither fully form her nor break her. It was just a moment in time. Just one decision amongst an infinite amount. He wasn't making excuses for her. He just wanted me to understand that one moment wasn't enough to push her away forever. It wasn't enough to destroy the millions of other choices she had made out of love for me. He wanted me to understand that in time she would realize her mistake and make a better choice. I just had to understand. So the next night I found myself in a tattoo shop. This is my constant reminder never to let one choice decide my fate."

Gail traced the words on her ribs, speaking each one delicately. "A choice is just a moment in time, to neither form you nor break you. It is not your destiny; it is not your downfall. It is just a moment." She took another minute to take it in before moving to Holly's right side.

Holly smiled warmly and began her explanation. "This one I got a few months later. It didn't start out like how it looks now. It is ever changing." She felt Gail's fingers tracing the roots, and branches and knots of the tree. "It started out as just the trunk and branches and a single leaf. Each leaf was added individually. The first one was for coming out to my parents, which I had already done. I got the next one when I was accepted into school pre-med. The next one was for making amends with my father. Each time I made it through a struggle or accomplished something big I added a leaf. When I look in the mirror every day I can see how far I have come. It has held me together on more than one occasion. And this leaf here." Holly placed one of Gail's fingers on the leaf. "This one is for the day my mother called me to tell me she was sorry, and that she loved me no matter what. That was the day we finally spoke after almost three years. And this one here, that one I got the day I graduated med school. I got one for finishing my residency, one when I completed my first marathon, one when my nephew was born. They all have meaning, each one a purpose. And then this one here…this one is yours."

Holly braced herself for Gail's reaction, but didn't receive one. She looked up into Gail's eyes. She was staring at her obviously taken aback. She held Gail's hand in her own and carried on. "When I met you I wasn't in the best place. I had been through some rough patches and you unknowingly pulled me out. You have been there for me more than you could ever realize. Gail you are the first true friend I have had in ages. So this leaf is yours, for pushing me to become a better me." Holly glanced back up at Gail who was wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Holly I don't know what to say to that. I can't believe you gave me a leaf on your tree." Holly watched a smile grow on Gail's face. "And for the record, if I had a tree, you would totally have a leaf on it. A really big ass leaf." Holly grinned back at Gail and pulled her into a hug. "When did you get that leaf anyways?"

Holly sighed and looked at Gail. "That one, I got about a month ago. Remember when we spent that night out at that new bar and got way too tipsy and ended up dancing to terrible music on the beach, freezing our asses off?" Gail nodded. "Well we had that crazy conversation that night about the future, and the past, and the present, and how none of it would ever make any sense to anyone. You said something like how the second you realize you are in the present, it is too late, and is already just a memory. It was totally crazy, yet made perfect sense. I realized then that I was never going to meet anyone like you in my life again. And it made me sad. I thought about our friendship that night and realized that you were such a big part of the person I have let myself become lately and the thought of not having a piece of that with me, just the memories was not enough. I thought that you deserved a leaf, so that a piece of you would be with me no matter what. So that Friday when you asked me to meet you, the appointment I said I had, and the reason I couldn't meet you, that appointment was for this. For your leaf."

Gail smiled and laughed quietly. "You know you are insane right? But only in the most fantastic of ways, you goober." Gail pulled her into a tight embrace holding her close. They stayed like that for a while before finally letting their arms fall back to their sides. "So then... That covers those two, but what about the one on your back?"

Holly stood up, pulling her shirt back over her head. "That one is a story for another day. Now what do you say we go see if we can find some ice cream in my freezer?" Gail gave her a look but followed her from the room never the less.

They managed to ride out the rest of their hangovers in moderate comfort. Gail ordered them pizza around dusk, and Holly had broken out her movie collection. When Gail started to nod off, Holly reluctantly suggested they called it a night. Gail agreed and dragged herself tiredly from Holly's bed before she realized something.

"Holly, you realize your car is still at the strip club right?"

Holly let her head fall into her palms, suddenly remembering she had left her car in favor of the taxi. Gail laughed a bit and slid back into Holly's bed. "How about I just stay here tonight? That way I can drop you off at your car on my way to work. I have a spare uniform in my locker at work."

Holly accepted the offer and dropped back down on the bed. Gail got up and turned the lights and TV off. She set Holly's alarm and curled up into her arms. Holly fell asleep listening to Gail's breathing, and found herself dreaming about the woman in her arms.