NOTE: I totally did not expect for this to be more than five chapters but I needed to set up the final chapter. So Five Steps will apparently take six.
The voices sounded like whispers as she stood at the front door of the home. Still, Gail could tell there was several people inside even though she could not identify them. Gail unconsciously took a step back. She hated social interaction. She was never good at them unless there was booze handy. But tonight she would not be partaking of any alcoholic beverages no matter how tasty. She needed a clear head for what she was about to do. Steeling her will, she took a step forward and knocked on the door.
She heard the footsteps on the other side and took a deep breath. She silently begged her hands to stop shaking, rubbing them together as if it was the wind causing them to move uncontrollably. She heard the lock hitch and adjusted her stance. She should look relaxed at least. She thought she had pulled it off by the time the door opened.
"Hey Holly," Gail said in a pseudo casual tone. Just breathe she reminded herself.
"Hey!" Holly answered in surprise. Gail drunk in the sight of the brunette. It felt like she had not seen Holly in years. Her appearance now sent a rush of good memories to Gail's mind. Before she could cherish them and smile though, their last encounter entered her thoughts. The cold finality of Holly's insistence that she was not ready to be in a relationship and the realization that there was no going back for them stilled the smile on Gail's face. Gail was fighting an uphill battle. While she hated taking anyone's advice, Steve's words from last night's confrontation sat in her mind.
'Be with her. Or don't. Just get over yourselves.' Her older brother had a way with words. While they were not poignant, they were clear and direct, the two attributes Gail responded to the most.
Gail watched as Holly's surprise expression turned to one of apprehension. She realized she had been staring at her at the doorway for several moments. See, it's not that hard to make things awkward, Peck, she mocked herself in her thoughts. You seem to always find a way. Gail shook off her thoughts and tried again.
"Hey Holly." Holly shared a ghost of a smile.
"You already said that." Gail knew that they were both remembering the same moment in their history by the way Holly's eyes soften. Gail smiled.
"It sounded familiar."
Holly shook her head and leaned it gently against the door. Gail wished she knew what Holly was thinking at the moment. If she held that memory or any memory of them as a good one in her mind. Gail snapped back into reality as she listened to Holly sigh.
"Gail, what are you doing here?" Gail prepared to speak but hushed voices interrupted her.
"She said its Gail." The first voice whispered loudly.
"Gail?" A second more slurred voice asked. "Quick! Hide the booze!"
"Booze is legal, Lisa." That factual information came with a frustrated groan.
At the sound of that name, Gail froze. Holly was apparently hanging out with her friends. She should probably leave. But Holly had obviously heard the mini conversation as well and was already opening the door wider.
"There is no need to stand outside. Come in, Gail." Holly stepped back to allow Gail in. Gail exhaled harshly and followed her inside.
Holly's place had not changed much since the last time she had seen it. Only the last time Gail had visited she did not have two inebriated women sitting on the floor of the living room and several bottles of wine on the kitchen counter and coffee table. More accurately, Holly's friend Rachel was stretched out with her back leaning against the foot of the couch. Lisa was flat out lying on the floor next to her.
"We are having a wine tasting." Holly explained.
"Oh," Gail said as she walked further into the room. Gail turned to Holly with a twinkle in her eye. "Cause it looked like to me you were just getting wasted."
"I thought you said she wasn't a detective." Lisa looked up at Holly. Holly just shook her head at her friend's slurred question and closed the door. Gail looked around, wondering if there were any other surprises she was not aware of.
"Would you like a glass, Gail?" Rachel asked taking in the cop's nervous stance.
"No thanks," Gail said quickly before she changed her mind.
"Gail Peck!" Holly uttered shocked as she approached the group. "I have never heard you turn down alcohol." Holly looked her over, taking in her uniform. "Are you still on the clock? Are you here about a case?"
"Uh... Well..." Gail stuttered as all sets of eyes fell on her. "Kind of." Steve considered it a case. So did she.
"Oh!" Holly ran her fingers through her hair. " I just had two glasses of wine."
"Two?" Lisa huffed incredulously. Even Rachel looked at Holly with eyebrows raised. Holly rolled her eyes at her friends and focused on Gail.
"I'm really not in the right state to go to the station tonight." Holly's eyes silently pleaded for understanding. Gail immediately felt bad as she looked into their depths. She did not want to make Holly feel inadequate in any way.
"No, you're fine." Gail reassured her. "I just had a couple of questions. We can actually do them here if you don't-"
"Gail, why is there blood on your jacket?" Holly interrupted, examining Gail's presence clearly for the first time, her eyes sharply aware. Gail looked down at her jacket in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Gail, I spend all day looking at bones for the slightest unexpected bumps, splintering or fractures. Do you think I wouldn't notice blood?" Holly asked with a rush. Gail looked her with wide eyes as Holly exhaled slowly.
"Gail," she asked more calmly. "Why is there blood on the arm of your jacket?"
Gail looked at the arm of her jacket closely. She finally saw the darkened spot and smiled in comprehension.
"Oh. That's nothing, Holly. It was Dov's stupid idea to corner a suspect. He got me stabbed. The idiot." Gail chuckled as she remembered the look on Dov's face when it happened. She had overplayed her injury to guilt Dov the best she could. Holly inhaled sharply, and Gail immediately stop chuckling. She took in Holly's scared expression and realized she would have to do the exact opposite with Holly.
"It's really nothing."
"Take off your jacket, Gail."
"They didn't even give me any of the good pain pills, the cheapskates," Gail forced a smile.
"Take. Off. Your jacket." Holly ordered more forcibly. Gail looked to Holly's friends for assistance. The two women had changed positions. Both were now sitting on the floor and were taking in their discussion as if it was a scene from a movie. They were interested in watching but Gail could tell they were not stepping in.
Gail, resigned, unbuttoned and unzipped her jacket. As she pulled it off her injured wrist came to view. With a hushed 'oh honey', Holly immediately rushed to her side.
"Let me see." Holly said, taking her injured wrist carefully in her hand. Holly held out her own hand towards her friends. Lisa immediately grabbed her glasses from the coffee table. She handed them to Rachel who handed them to Holly. The room was silent with concern. And Gail had never been more uncomfortable in Holly's home.
"I wasn't stabbed, Holly. It wasn't more than a scratch." Gail whispered to the concerned doctor. "It wasn't even totally Dov's fault. Not totally."
Her eyes never left Gail's wrist. She gingerly took off the wrapped bandage taking great care not to shake Gail's arm. As the minor wound revealed itself, Holly softly stroked the angry red area. Gail felt her touch to her bones, causing comfort not just to the injured area but to Gail's entirety. Against her control, she rested her head against Holly's.
"You have stitches." Holly whispered upset.
"Only a couple." Gail softly assured her.
Holly leaned down and pressed her lips to the wound as if her soft lips could heal it. It did not, but her kiss did sooth some of the pain Gail had been unable to get rid of since their break up. Gail's breathing wavered a bit. Holly looked up and into Gail's icy blue eyes, only they were as warm as the ocean. Gail felt the warmness engulf her as she connected with Holly. Gail took in everything, the complete feeling, the rushing emotions, the calmness coming with the storm. She wondered just how Holly was able to do it. Caressing her cheek Gail smiled.
"You've got your old glasses on." Holly returned her smile.
"Someone seems to have ruined any joy I could have had in my new pair." Gail's smile grew. It lasted until a harsh reminder came that they were not alone in the room.
"Oh God. Not the glasses again!" The slurred whisperer was back.
"Lisa..." Rachel tried to reprimand quietly.
"It's just that we talked for an hour about those damn glasses." Lisa muttered.
Holly stepped back from Gail, her demeanor changing as if she was stepping back into reality. Gail could not help it. Her icy glare fell on Lisa. Their last encounter may have ended peacefully but that was then. Now, if looks could kill, Lisa would be on Holly's lab table at this moment.
Holly laid a hand on Gail's arm drawing her attention back to her.
"You have already met slightly inebriated Lisa. May I introduced you to absolutely intoxicated Lisa?" Holly joked. Gail rolled her eyes and smiled. She could tell Holly was trying her best to clear the tension in the air. It was not working of course, but that would not stop Holly from trying. The doctor in question cleared her throat as she walked to the other end of the kitchen, putting more distance between them.
"You can follow me upstairs and I'll re-bandage your wrist. Then we can talk about your case." Holly trashed the bandage and turned to her friends.
"We will be right back." Her friends nodded encouragingly. Holly looked to Gail with a shrug.
"Shall we?"
Holly turned, heading for the stairs. Gail watched her walk for a moment, trying to regain the will that drove her to drive there in the first place.
"Just like a case," she reminded herself. With a quick nod at Holly's friends, Gail headed upstairs.