Gail has started moving on, at least professionally. And Holly?

She was totally feeling lust.

And that was a really, really, big problem.

That was why, after six months of not talking or seeing her at all, she had her hands in Gail's hair and was backing her into her apartment. It wasn't like Gail was objecting the manhandling. Gail had started it, the kissing part at least. But this was a colossally terrible idea. They both had to know it, but so far all Gail had done to slow it down was push back so she could close and lock her door.

It was such a relief to have the moment. Holly knew she was crazy for just showing up after seeing Gail by accident. She had never meant to run into Gail at all. In fact, Holly had every intention of avoiding the hell out of Gail, to the point that she called Fifteen and pretended she was someone who just happened to have Gail's card (a truth), and wondered if she was in, or when she might be.

That had given her a huge shock. Gail wasn't posted at Fifteen anymore. The guy on the phone (who called himself Duncan, and Holly was pretty sure Gail had called him Gerald at some point) offered to help, but Holly said no and hung up. Gail wasn't at Fifteen. She was nth generation Peck at Fifteen. They'd talked about that before. Gail expected to complete her career at Fifteen or the Big Building maybe. But she was still a cop, just not at Fifteen.

Tossing around the idea that maybe Gail was at the Big Building, Holly tried to check for Gail's name while she was there for the last case, the actual reason she was in town. The only Peck was a Superintendent named Elaine. Aka Mom Peck. Holly had no plans to talk to her. It was probably best this way. She didn't need to see Gail and make herself ache with longing for the blonde who never left her dreams.

The second shock happened when Lisa got pulled over for speeding.

They were late for meeting Rachel for lunch, which was Lisa's fault to begin with. And then they heard a siren behind them. Holly had laughed when Lisa realized that the cop was signaling at her, making a hand gesture to pull over.

The motorcycle parked behind them and as the cop sauntered up, Holly felt her heart drop. She knew that walk. That saunter, that swagger, was so unique. There was a way that she knew the woman walked and it was so like this. Maybe it was just a relative, because her cop didn't ride a motorcycle on patrol. Her beautiful blue-eyed ex girlfriend had a patrol car with a partner. But she knew in her heart the reality was that she knew that officer.

Lisa had been dismissive of Holly's curse and handed over her license with a blasé apology. The cop's sunglasses came off and the words died on her lips when Lisa realized exactly who the officer taking her license was. Gail Peck. On a motorcycle. Holly felt her face turn pink, heating up in a split second. Gail on a motorcycle was one of the sexiest mental images she'd ever had. Yeah. That was lust.

Leaning in, Gail looked momentarily surprised. Then she asked Lisa if she'd been drinking, and all the normal things a cop asked to see why you were speeding. Perhaps the question of if Lisa was taking her friend to the airport for a flight, and was running late, wasn't standard. And then she'd handed Lisa a ticket for speeding and told her to drive more safely. She didn't even say hello to Holly, more than a slight nod, and then she walked back to the bike.

As Lisa pulled back onto the road, Holly stared at Gail in the wing mirror, watching her ex get on the bike.

Lisa hissed, "Did you know?"

"No," Holly whispered. "I mean, I knew she wasn't at Fifteen…"

Lisa smacked Holly's arm, hard. "I told you not to look her up, you're just going to feel like crap again."

Rubbing her arm, Holly grimaced. "I know, I just… I didn't want to talk to her. I was just trying to figure out where she was so I didn't bump into her at court or anything."

They both paused as Gail drove past them, seemingly unfazed by the little adventure. "She's fucking hot on a bike, Holly," sighed Lisa.

"No kidding."

Another smack. "No. Bad Holly. You broke up, okay? You moved to California, she said no, stop it. Okay? I'm not putting up with you and a broken heart again because you tried to hook up with her for a one night stand while you're in town."

Which was why Holly had not told Lisa where she was going that afternoon. It hadn't taken much to figure out where Gail worked or what day she had off. Figuring out where she lived was surprisingly easy too. She just asked Nick.

He'd hemmed and hawed but finally divulged Gail's new address (not too far from her friends) and wished her luck.

Luck was, indeed, on her side when Gail opened the door and looked actually startled to see Holly. They shared a moment of awkward hellos in the doorway and then some how-are-yous and then Holly started to babble about how she'd actually been avoiding Gail because she was only here until Friday and it was stupid to just rip open that old wound and then…

Well 'then' was now and there were hands on Holly's face pulling her in to shut her up and Holly had no objections at all when that kiss turned into the one where she was the one manhandling Gail. Her heart was pounding as Gail landed on the couch, on her, and didn't stop. A million times, yes. Holly stopped caring that it was a phenomenally terrible idea.

Pillows fell off the couch as they too frantically moved against each other. Gail's shirt rode up, exposing the deliciously soft skin. They somehow were working their thighs into the right place, pressing up and spurring each other forward. And Gail's lips were on her neck and chin, as if Gail couldn't get enough of the taste of Holly's skin. Holly had forgotten how good this felt, how good Gail felt.

Sadly sanity struck Gail. "God, Holly wait," she managed, her hand already up Holly's shirt, fingertips on the seam of her bra. "This is a…" Gail trailed off looking down at Holly. Her skin was red all the way down to her neck and it seemed to take monumental effort to peal herself off Holly. Gail scooted to the other end of her couch. "We shouldn't do this."

Holly squirmed up to sitting and caught her breath. "Yeah, I know."

"I really want to," Gail sighed, mournfully.

That didn't help at all. "I don't even know if you're seeing anyone," whinged Holly.

"I'm not." Gail's reply was fast, almost overrunning Holly's words. "No... I'm not seeing anyone." Her voice was quiet as she asked, "Are you?"

Holly shook her head. "No. Not since..." Not since Gail. Except for the whole fake girlfriend thing, which had been a stupid idea. There had been a couple dates in San Francisco, but her heart wasn't in it. Six months, her heart was still here. Her heart was still with Gail.

Gail sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "This is more awkward than asking Nick to borrow his bike," she muttered.

"Yeah. The bike... When did that happen?"

"Four... Five months ago. They cut me loose a couple weeks ago." That meant shortly after Holly left, Gail had left Fifteen and struck out on her own. Alone.

"You looked ..." The word Holly was looking for was 'amazing' or 'sexy.' Neither word was appropriate just then. Neither was 'hot.' "I didn't expect that."

Blushing a little, Gail scratched the back of her neck. "I needed a change."

"Do you... Do you like it?"

"I do. A lot. I miss Fifteen but don't tell them."

Holly laughed softly. Some things would never change. "I won't." She smiled at Gail fondly. It was so hard not to reach over...

"Stop looking at me like that," groaned Gail, getting up. "God, it's not fair you showing up out of the blue looking all... Holly."

She hadn't meant to look all anything. Holly glanced at her clothes. Jeans, shirt, sneakers. It was the casual clothes she'd had at hand when she dug into her suitcase. "Sorry. I don't even know why I'm here," she admitted.

Nearly sneering, Gail said, "Yes you do. Same reason I was all over you a second ago." She walked to her kitchen.

"Doesn't make it any smarter," sighed Holly.

"No," allowed Gail. "Can I get you a drink?"

"How very domestic." Holly leaned over the couch and watched Gail open the fridge.

Gail laughed. "I'm all grown up now. I do my own laundry and everything."

"Just water." And Gail moved around her kitchen, a plain and simple affair. "This is nice."

"It's okay. I miss the guys sometimes, but..."

"Privacy must be nice, if you have a date."

With a snort, Gail held out a glass of water. "Stop fishing. There hasn't been anyone since you. Not even a blind date."

Holly blinked as she took the water. "How's your mother taking that?"

"Probably better than the whole motorcycle cop thing."

She was so dismissive, Holly almost missed the key word. "Probably?"

"I'm practically disowned," shrugged Gail. "Which happens when you testify against your family."

Holly had heard about the edges of that from Rodney and others at the lab. "Honey-"

"God no, don't do that," winced Gail. No. She flinched. "It's fine, you know. Everyone always abandons me anyway." She gestured at Holly with her own glass.

Then it was Holly's turn to flinch. "I didn't-"

"You did. Holly, you did. And I'm not saying it's not my fault too, but you moved to California." Gail managed to sound so flat that it tore at Holly heart.

"I'm sorry," whispered Holly.

"You knew you had this job offer before we broke up," Gail added, her tone unchanging.

"Okay, that's not fair," snapped Holly. "I found out two days before. What was I supposed to say? The day before you meet Lisa and Rachel, oh hey, I've got a job offer in San Francisco that people would kill for!" Gail exhaled loudly, derisively, but said nothing. More quietly, Holly went on, "I was waiting for the right time. I wanted to tell you."

Gail put down her glass and sat on the arm of the couch. "And I was a brat and a child. I know." She scrubbed her face with both hands. "But you still left."

"I did," nodded Holly. "I wanted you to come, but you said no."

"We weren't even dating! You made that damn clear with your stupid new girlfriend."

"Oh for- I made her up!" The moment Holly said it, Gail startled, her eyes widening. "Shut up, I made her up because if I hadn't, I'd have said yes to you at the lab, even though I was leaving, and we'd ..."

Peevish, Gail noted, "We'd have been just as hurt. God, that was stupid, Holly. Don't lie to me ever again, please."

Holly grasped the moment of hope that came with 'ever again.' She swallowed. "If we'd still been dating, if we'd never broken up, if there hadn't been Sophie, would you have come?"

Sulking a little, Gail pointed out, "I'm a Peck. We're Toronto cops."

Holly frowned. "You don't have to be."

Gail laughed sadly. "This is apparently as much Peck rebellion as I can stomach, Holly. I can't leave. I tried."

Another surprise. "You tried?"

"After Sophie, I nearly got on a plane."

There was that too. Holly hesitated. "What happened?"

Gail sighed. "It just didn't work. Can we leave it at that?"

Holly understood that and nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Gail hunched her shoulders a little.

Whatever had happened, it hung on her still. Holly felt as pained as if it were her. It felt like it was her. "I wish you could have told me. Called me."

"I nearly bought a ticket a hundred times," Gail said, thickly.

While Gail had shoved away when Holly tried before, she couldn't help it an second time. Holly stood up and wrapped her arms around Gail. There was a hiccup and Gail finally squeezed Holly close. "So did I," sniffled Holly.

So many times she'd wanted to just throw it all away and come back. In so many ways, she wanted to be right here, holding Gail and comforting her. Or on the couch. But also the small things. The hard things. The painful things.

"Did we get all this wrong, Holly?"

"I think we did," admitted Holly sadly, stroking Gail's hair.

With a deep, shaky, breath, Gail let go and studied Holly's face. "I miss you. Every day."

Holly wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I keep trying to forget you."

Gail laughed and let go, picking up a box of Kleenex. "That's going splendidly." She blew her nose after holding out the box for Holly. "Now what? How long are you here for?"

"Friday. Unless you mean here here. And ... I have to call a cab."

"I can drive you wherever you need to be. If you don't mind riding a motorcycle."

Holly blushed. "I haven't ridden one in years. They let you keep the bike at home?"

With a sly smile, Gail explained. "I took Nick's as an apology for him kissing me."

The flush of desire born from the idea of riding on a motorcycle pressed up to Gail faded into a burn of anger. "He what?!"

"Down, girl," laughed Gail. "I needed a refresher course on the cycle before I applied for the gig. Dumb Nick thought I was hitting on him." Gail mimed a right cross. "Broke his nose."

"I shouldn't laugh." But Holly did laugh. "He just let you keep it?"

"I didn't exactly ask."

That was Gail, through and through. Holly laughed, blowing her nose again. "I should go."

Reaching over, Gail wiped some wetness off Holly's cheek. Then she gnawed on her lower lip. "Is this how you felt that night in the shower? Half of you wanting to kiss and the other half screaming that this is a terrible idea?" Her warm hand cupped Holly's cheek.

"Because I'm leaving in three days?" She couldn't help it. Holly leaned into the hand. It felt so nice to have Gail touching her again.

Gail nodded. "Because you're leaving. Because it's going to rip open my heart again, splatter my guts on the wall, and leave me ruined for anyone else?"

The words stung and ripped at Holly's heart. But Gail's hand didn't move. "That makes two of us."

With a long sigh, Gail's other hand came up to cradle Holly's face and draw her close. "I don't want to say goodbye yet, Holly," she whispered.

Lips touched. This time, all the second thoughts took a back seat to the fact that they desperately wanted to be there, with each other. It was a terrible, terrible, idea. But they gave in to passion again, holding close the sparks that flickered between them. Gail led them to her bedroom, an under-decorated affair, and they fell quickly into the physical.

After, they lay together, quiet and calm, touching each other gently and without direction. Gail's pale fingers roamed over Holly's stomach, mapping out curves as if she was trying to memorize them. When Holly tried to suggest they go, Gail's lips were on her again, demanding and delighting, driving home the reminder that they were so, so compatible.

They did talk, though. Eventually.

Gail told her about her job. She really liked the new one. Arresting losers all the time, doing parades and shit where she met new people (some famous, including Angelina Jolie filming a movie) and got to be a face of policing. Holly teased her that it was a great face, but she was thrilled to see the delight in Gail's eyes when she talked about work. That was new. Gail never talked about her job before, and never with such unbridled joy. Of course, she did really miss Fifteen, but there was a rumor that some of the traffic cops would be stationed at various Divisions, and she was on the list for a couple as the junior officer.

Holly talked about her work as well. The research and experiments that her lab did in San Francisco. Getting to go to Body Farms, which Gail allowed was gross and cool, had been a highlight. There was rumor of getting a new body farm somewhere and she'd get to help design it. She'd learned a lot about new ways people died, like jumping off bridges and such. In short, Holly did love her job too. But she'd always loved her job. This opportunity had been too good to pass up.

And they talked about contracts and how long either expected to do their jobs or stay where they were. Without saying it directly, they talked about how they might get together and live in the same city. Because besides the sex, they knew they wanted that too. They just had to sort it out.

They didn't think it was going to work, though. They faced the same problem they'd had before. Holly was going back to San Francisco and Gail was staying here. They lay in Gail's bed, quiet for a while, contemplating that. Their future together was in doubt. It was unlikely and they knew it. Gail voiced it first.

"We can't have both, can we?"

Holly shook her head. "Can we have now?"

Gail chewed her lip. Gently, Holly ran her hand along Gail's bare arm. The once blonde sighed and whispered Holly's name. "Holly, what are we doing?"

"We're having now," she replied and scooted closer to kiss Gail again. Now. They could have a now and enjoy a now, knowing it was the end of what was and had no future to what would be. It was just now.

At length, Holly's phone rang.

Lisa was going to come by the hotel to pick her up for dinner. Quickly, Holly explained she was out, but would call as soon as she got back to the hotel. Thus put off for a moment, Holly disentangled herself from Gail. "I have to go," she whispered.

"I'll drive you," replied Gail, just as quietly. They kissed again and Gail gestured to the bathroom.

The ride back to her hotel was just as stimulating as Holly feared it might be. She wouldn't have traded a single second of it for anything, though. Breathing in the smell of Gail the whole ride soothed her for the rest of her trip. She and Gail didn't see each other again while she was in Toronto. That would have been too hard, too painful.

Gail said she wanted to see Holly, but they needed to be realistic. Neither was going to change their lives for a wild chance. They both had jobs they loved. They cared about each other, but they just weren't in the same place at the same time.

But as she was going through security, her phone beeped.

I was wrong.

Instinctively, Holly looked around for that blonde- no, that red blonde head. No Gail. She tapped a reply.

Are you at the airport?

I wish. I want you.

Holly flushed. It wasn't just the sex talking, she hoped. She tapped in four words.

I want you too.

Her phone rang. "Holly, I don't care that you're a million miles away-"

"Three thousand."

"Shut up. I don't care. I ... I was a brat, I was selfish. I was immature. And I miss you. I want a second chance. Please."

Holly remembered Gail telling her that Nick never gave her a second chance, even though she gave him one. She remembered how Chris abandoned Gail as soon as she started being the woman he wanted. And Holly... Well that was complicated.

"Okay," she whispered into the phone.

"Okay?"

"I miss you. It's stupid but you just crawled into my life and threw it upside down and I have never once stopped thinking about you. Even when I saw other people, all I wanted was to be with you again. So okay. We can figure this out."

Gail's laugh was quavery. "Okay," she breathed.

The security guard scowled at her. "I have to go. They might arrest me if I keep talking."

"Just tell them you're on the phone with a Peck."

Holly laughed. "I love you. I'll call you when I'm through security."

"No, I'm supposed to be on patrol. Call me when you land." Then, quietly, Gail added, "You love me?"

"Yeah, I do," whispered Holly, dropping her passport. "Goddamn it..."

"Wow. Really?" Gail was laughing.

"Shut up. I dropped my passport." They both laughed.

"God, you're such a dork. I love you, Holly. Fly safe."

"I will." As she hung up and started to apologize, the woman behind her started clapping. Then more people clapped. "Uh... Thank you?"

"Is your young man going to show up with flowers?" The woman behind her looked delighted.

"My—" Holly stopped. "No. We haven't worked that out yet."

The security guard coughed and Holly hustled through. She stared at her phone as she waited for boarding and considered buying wifi for the trip. But. What would she say that hadn't already been said? What could she possibly change?

She wanted to be with Gail. She knew that. Could Gail move to San Francisco? Could she move back to Toronto? What would she even do? Did she wanted to work in the lab again? It wouldn't be that hard to get her job back.

Finally Holly turned her phone off and closed her eyes, drifting off to a sleep where she thought about a pale, feisty angel who stole her breath and heart.

When she woke, the plane was landing and her phone had a text message.

Stupid plan. I'm going to apply to the Chips and SFPD and you apply to things here and we go from there.

Holly smiled.

Not stupid. Would you really move here?

She didn't expect a reply right away, but she got one just as she pulled into her parking lot at home.

For you I'd stop being a Peck.

Holly exhaled loudly and closed her eyes. What had Gail said? Nick and Chris tried to change her. Her mother tried to shape her. But Holly was the person who accepted her. She tapped a reply carefully.

I love you because of who you are.

It was the only safe, logical, answer. Gail's was a little more frivolous, but Holly got the point.

Keep sweet talking me.

They texted back and forth for a while, just like old times before they were dating. They teased each other around logistics, and as Holly eventually fell asleep she was smiling.

For the first time in a very long time she was feeling good about what was next.

Still not the end. But see?