One Month Later…

Holly watched as the buildings that surrounded the car whizzed by one by one. She's wracking her brain trying to figure out where the heck Gail is taking her but the only thing she can think of is to Aria Ristorante; her favourite restaurant by the harbour. The giddy smile on her face soon fades as the bright lights of the wonderful and genuine Italian restaurant can only be seen in the rear view mirror. Remembering that she had been told to dress casual should have been the first hint that it wouldn't be a fancy dinner.

"Baaaabe…" She turns in her seat to face Gail who already is laughing at her attempt at the puppy dog eyes.

"Oh put a lid on it birthday girl, we're here" Gail giggled, pulling into the arena parking lot. She watched as the frown on Holly's face quickly changed into a wide grin, reminding her of a kid on Christmas.

"You have tickets for the game?"

"We have tickets for the game" Gail corrected her, kissing her on the lips swiftly. "It's your two favourite teams and your birthday. I couldn't let you miss it for a clichéd fancy dinner" she smiled. Gail began pulling her zipper down, revealing the Toronto Maple Leaf jersey from under her jacket – obviously borrowed from Steve since she was never big on sports. "I have mine…" She reached into her bag and pulled out another "And I may have snuck yours in my bag when you went to start the car"

Holly would most definitely settle for street meat and a good beer at what was sure to be a good game.

There was ten minutes left in the third period and both Toronto and Chicago were scoreless. As much as Gail didn't want to admit it, she was actually having fun and enjoying herself. The aggression of the players when one body checked another into the boards, the cool yet warm air of the arena, the kids banging on the glass behind the home bench, the chanting for the home team, the drunken but entertaining idiots, the 'Ooooohs' and 'OOOHs' when someone missed the net, and Holly. She couldn't stop thinking about Holly. Her hand lightly grasping Gail's leg. Her eyes intensely focused on the game behind those cute glasses. The way she nipped at her bottom lip when both teams came close to scoring a goal. When she looked over at Gail for reassurance that she too was having fun. When she gave her that heart-stopping grin after catching Gail staring at her.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. The buzzer rang through the crowded arena and a sea of people in blue jerseys shot up with their fists in the air.

It was like everything was happening in slow motion. Gail watched Holly shoot up from her seat, cheering for the first goal of the game and nearly knocking the beer out of the hands of the guy beside her. The people in front of them turned to offer high-fives as well as those behind them and Holly eagerly accepted, visibly ecstatic over what just happened. Gail's heart thumped loudly in her chest as she rose from her seat, clapping her hands in celebration. She turned to Holly who was still cheering with the deafening crowd.

"Hol…" her voice going unheard.

Still cheering.

"Holly…"

"Geeez, did you see that!? What a goal! Oh my gosh!"

Gail looked at the stupid amount of excitement on Holly's face and couldn't help but smile. "Holly, I love you" she cut in.

Holly's face got serious in a matter of .2 seconds. "What?"

"I love you, you nerd" She shook her head almost as if not believing the words that had come out of her mouth. "I'm completely in love with you" There they were again; those butterflies.

Holly's chest tightened and her brain took a few seconds to process what she had just heard. It came as even more of a shock than when Gail had announced to her friends and colleagues that she was her girlfriend. Not because she didn't think Gail loved her, but because she had stolen the spotlight for saying it first. She took Gail's face in her hands and her smile grew impossibly larger. "I love you too" she said, sealing the new moment with a passionate kiss.

"Yeeeea! Kiss her some more! Wooo!" a man a few rows above encouraged, to which Gail responded with a quick flip of her middle finger and a giggle as her lips moved caringly with Holly's.

"Gail, Hun you missed the turn" Holly stated. "Oh it's alright, you can just turn here an – or you can miss that turn too" The confusion came back as she wondered what Gail was up to. She had driven to her apartment many times; there was no reason for her to be driving the wrong way.

"We're not going to your apartment" she smiled. Gail wasn't done with the surprises. For the entire duration of their relationship she promised herself that she would always try to keep Holly happy. It was her birthday, but regardless of that fact she deserved the world as far as Gail was concerned.

Holly raised an eyebrow. "Soooo where are we going?"

"Well, I talked to your boss -"

"You talked to my boss?" Holly's face twisted in even more bewilderment.

"I talked to your boss and I talked to Frank to get the O.K. for the weekend off…The Pecks have a cottage up in Muskoka and during the winter it's pretty nice and I know you're into all that nature stuff so I figured you and I could go spend the weekend together, free of any worries, sitting by the fire…and a lot of sex"

"Aww Gail, that's sweet and I'd really love it…especially the last bit, but it's already past 10:30 and it's a good two hour drive, you're probably tired…and I have no clothes with me"

"Hol, I'm a police officer. I'm used to late nights. You can sleep in the car while I drive…and well, no clothes are fine with me" she laughed, earning a scolding look. "Relax, I have our stuff packed and in the trunk already"

"Did I tell you that I love you?"

"Only after I said it first" Gail joked, clearly proud of herself.