Part of the Officer Lunchbox Secret Santa 2014 Extravaganza. My Secret Santa was unrequitedexistence.
"Seriously Hols? Did you have no fun in college? Margarita Monday, Tequila Tuesday, Whiskey Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Fireball Friday, Sangria Saturday, and Sinful Sunday" But Holly just shook her head and as Gail continued through the days of the week her expression became more and more incredulous. "Not even in undergrad?" Gail just sat and stared at her wondering how they got along so well. Holly was definitely not the usual people she hung out with.
"It sounds…exciting?" Truth be told, Holly was always kind of a nerd and a homebody so mostly her nights and weekends were spent on movie marathons or reruns of her favorite shows. And her friends were usually much the same, Gail was definitely not the usual people she hung out with.
"Yeah well, it's not like we went every night of the week. There were just options if we wanted to." Gail suddenly felt like she sounded like a party girl and not the type of woman Holly thought she had been dating. "These days we don't drink as heavily, mostly as a way to just relax or after a difficult day." Holly hummed her agreement to that.
"Days like I've had today. That's why I got a nice cabernet for this evening. Cases involving children are the hardest." At this, Gail could see her eyes glaze over and a melancholy mood settle over her as she swirled the wine in its glass before taking a long, slow sip.
"Do you want to talk about it?" What was she doing? Willingly inviting a conversation about feelings. This wasn't the first time she felt the need to talk things out with the brunette. Maybe it was those deep brown eyes, or the way you could see how much she cared just from her demeanor alone. Whatever it was, Gail was mesmerized by this woman and would do whatever it took to keep her around.
Holly laughed sadly to herself and ducked her head down, taking a deep breath as she did so. As she brought her head up, she ran her fingers through her hair and smiled shaking her head. "No. Not right now, it usually takes a day or so before I really process it. The wine helps for now. But thank you for offering." Sensing this was not something Gail usually did, she gently rested her hand atop the concerned blonde's and mindlessly rubbed tiny circles on it with her thumb. "Well. If that wasn't a conversation stopper. Ha, let's talk about something else. When is the Division's annual holiday party?"
"Ugh. Really? You change the subject to that?" She brought her free hand to her face and looked at the ceiling. "I make an appearance, get my attendance taken, and leave at the earliest possible moment."
"Oh. We always hear about the different Division's parties in pathology and they always sound like fun. Of course, not as fun as ours." She gave a sly smile and winked, laughing when Gail's jaw dropped. "I'm kidding. We don't really get up to any debauchery. It's usually just a nice dinner party and then a bunch of us hit the bars until it's just the ones with no familial commitments and we make our way over to someone's place - last year it was Rodney's - and play some games. Have you ever heard of Cards against Humanity?"
Dumbfounded Gail told her no and wondered what kind of party ended with board games? Leave it to the science nerds. But as Holly explained it to her, it actually sounded…fun. She was busy trying to picture a drunk Holly navigating her way around innuendos when she felt the brunette shaking her out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry, what did you ask me?"
"I asked if you'd like to go with me. It'll be fun." Gail's declination of her offer was on the tip of her tongue, but looking into those open brown eyes and the lopsided smile combined with that head tilt, she suddenly heard herself agreeing to go to the science nerds' party and subsequent outing followed by an invitation to the Divisions' holiday party. What was this woman doing to her? But before she could question it, Holly was enthusiastically talking about ugly Christmas sweaters and how she had found the perfect one this year. Gail hoped that maybe Holly would forget by the following week when her holiday party was and went home a little nervous about having to go to two social events in one week.
"Ugly Christmas sweater? Why? Are you, Miss I Always Leave Early Peck, planning on wearing one this year?" Tracy looked at her in disbelief.
"It was just a question." But when Tracy saw the look in her friend's eyes, she dialed back on the teasing and answered her.
"I may still have mine from last year. It was a close second, so it'll do pretty well if you intend to enter a holiday contest. Are you going with Holly?" She nudged shoulders with Gail and caught a knowing smile in response. "You are! You'll have a good time, I'm sure."
"That's what she keeps saying too. Everyone's so full of cheer, I'm not so sure anymore."
"Ah, don't worry about it. With a girl like Holly by your side, how could you not?" As Tracy got up to grab some more coffee she motioned asking Gail if she'd like a cup as well.
"I know, but still. You know?" She took the proffered cup from Tracy's hand and took a sip. "Man, someone's trying to save the coffee. It's not that strong today. And she keeps telling me we'll have fun at 15's party as well." With that she tried to make a quick escape, but as per usual Tracy was quick on the draw and caught her wrist before Gail could get very far.
"What? You're bringing a plus one?" Her eyes shone with happiness for her friend. "Gail Peck. You've never brought anyone to the holiday party in five years, nor have you showed any interest in any of the contests. Holly must be someone special then."
"She is. She's amazing. Now I really have to go, you know. Paperwork." She took a few steps away then turned around and added, "Thanks Trace." Before Tracy could respond, she walked away with a smile on her face.
Gail groaned once she saw the sweater that Tracy was providing her. It really was ugly. Holly would love it for sure. She was getting more and more nervous as the time passed and Holly was due to pick her up in 30 min. Her old insecurities were coming back to her, What if Holly didn't show? What if her colleagues didn't like her? What if...was that a knock at the door? She could hear Dov talking to someone and as she listened there were footsteps leading up to her own door and a soft knock. "Who is it?" she called out as she stood up to get the door.
"It's me. Holly. I know I'm early but..." she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before she was pulled into Gail's room by a very strong set of arms and kissed into tomorrow. "Gail. I..." She lost all train of thought as the blonde moved onto her neck and gosh, that felt good. She was yearning for more when her girlfriend pulled back and smirked at her.
"You know. We don't have to go..."
"Gail. We have to. Think of how much fun it'll be. Are you ready? Sorry I'm so early. It's just that I left work a little early so I was ready earlier than planned, and I couldn't just sit there and wait anymore so I figured.." Gail cupped her cheek and gave her a long, slow kiss.
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much? I'll be ready in five minutes, all I need to do is put on my, well Tracy's, ugly Christmas sweater, pre-game real quick, and then we can leave." She sauntered over to her closet and grabbed the sweater off of the hanger and tugged it on, however reluctantly.
"I. Wow. That is a good one. Wait until you see mine, though. Handmade." Holly smiled proudly and was tugged along to the kitchen by pale hands. Once there they let go and immediately began a raid through the cabinets grabbing a couple of shot glasses and some tequila.
"One shot before we go?"
"I can't, I'm driving." Holly normally took a cab to these things, but because she knew they still made Gail a little nervous she figured they drive over. It really wasn't a big deal to her.
"You can leave your car and we can cab it over there and back. I'll be fine as long as you're with me." She saw Holly's eyes searching her blue ones and knew she had her before Holly narrowed her eyes and started nodding. "Alright. A toast. To a fun-filled night with nerds!" Holly just laughed as they clinked glasses and downed the shots. The cab arrived in short order and they arrived right on time.
Throughout the dinner, Gail kept whispering comments in Holly's ears. Some made her blush and others nearly caused her to choke on her drinks from laughter. She really couldn't understand why people thought Gail was so cold and distant, really she was the best company Holly could have asked for well. Ever. And her colleagues really liked her, even the ones she considered friends commented about how much better Gail was than her last girlfriend. That earned a playful slap on the arm, but it was so true. No one could really compare to the sarcastic and witty blonde. After spending hours listening to the ways in which Gail would show her fun later on, Holly caved and they never made it to the bars or the intern's for games. Instead though, they had their own party for two back at Gail's. And after the next holiday party, they didn't even make it to dessert. But it was still apparently the longest Gail had ever remained at the party. All Holly could think about later that night was what a Merry Christmas it was turning out to be.