Hey everyone! First and for most, thanks to all of you who commented about the timespan between the episodes. I decided only to change it by an extra month, but those changes can be found in Ch. 13 (It's now 3 ½ months after they first met) and Ch. 17 (The run-in at the Penny was 3 months ago). Also, thank you to everyone who continues to review as well as to the new followers of the story. AND all of the lovely reviews on The Woods is truly greatly appreciated (Totally got carried away and used some ideas for this story in that one so now I'll have to do some harder thinking).
"Oh here's that little rascal who never visited me even once" the woman with grey hair and large glasses scolded, placing her hands on her hips. "Come on, stand up and let me take a good look at you"
Gail's cheeks began to flush as she smiled and stood up from the booth, coming face-to-face with the elderly lady.
Her frail and work-experienced hands found Gail's face as she studied her, looking quite concerned. "Still eating those darn cheese crackers aren't you?"
"Well hello to you too, Gram…And they're cheese puffs, not crackers" Gail laughed.
"Doesn't matter what they are, those darn orange crumbs always ended up making a disaster wherever your little hands could reach"
Holly giggled as she watched the blonde in what seemed to be a regular conversation between them when Gail stayed over; this woman was right, it ended up anywhere and everywhere with Gail's terrible – yet oddly cute – eating habits.
"Aren't you supposed to comment on how much I've grown and what a beautifully mature lady I've become?"
"That depends. Are you still a pain in the rear?" she quipped.
"That she is" Holly piped up from her seat, grinning at Gail whose face was still being held like she was a young child.
The woman looked at Holly and gave her a sincere smile. "Why, aren't you a beautiful and mature lady!" she began, motioning a hand towards the brunette. "Who is this friend of yours, chunky-monkey?" she beamed as Holly tried to stifle her laughter.
"I guess I won't be avoiding embarrassment today, will I?" Gail sighed. "Gram, this is my nerd, Holly. Holly, this is Rose, the woman who kept me sane while I was here" she explained, placing her hand on the woman's shoulder.
"Was that a compliment from this young lady? My goodness, I don't know how you've managed to soften her up, but please keep at it"
"I've learnt that her bark is bigger than her bite" Holly states.
"Oh don't I know it. This one over here has a mouth on her" she said, waving a pointed finger at Gail. "So, how did you meet this angel named Holly?"
"Oh let me tell you, it was quite romantic. We met at a crime scene and-"
"Gail, honey what did you do?" she asked with worry and Holly couldn't stop the laugh that escaped from her.
"Really Gram?" she shot her a shocked look before continuing, "I'm a police officer now – you know, carrying on the 'Peck' name, and Holly is a Forensic Pathologist"
"Ahh, beauty and brains. I like this one already sweetheart"
"You know, you're just as I remember you Gram. Quick, full of life, a pain in my butt, and still greying" she joked, kissing Rose's cheek. "I'm heading to the restroom, try not to steal my girlfriend while I'm gone" she called out as she headed away from the table.
Rose sat opposite to Holly in the booth, placed her hand on top of the brunette's and spoke softly to Holly. "She's got a good heart, that one there. She's just so misunderstood; always trying to live up to expectations. Ever since I'd known Gail she'd been busy trying to be who everyone else wanted her to be. She's full of fire and tries so hard not to give people the time of day, but when she loves, she loves more than anyone I've known. After her grandfather passed away she started having a pretty hard time. Her parents are something else. Don't get me wrong, from what I saw, Elaine did love her daughter, but she spent so much time trying to force her hand to make sure that she didn't screw up which barely gave the poor girl any room to breathe and think for herself. Her father barely says a word and isn't so intrusive. That's probably why she's fonder of him. That good for nothing army boy only made things worse; the poor girl never heard the end of it from her mother with the 'I told you' this and 'I told you' that. I hope that you love her as much as she loves you. I can see that she does; it's all in those eyes. They're not secretive like they used to be"
"I know, and she's managed to surprise me every single day that I've known her. With what she's gone through I feel horrible even complaining about my life, but ever since she's walked into it I've been better. We kind of just feed off each other, you know? I've realized that there's more to her than just the things everyone assumes and I want to be there with her for as long as she'll have me. I can promise you that I have nothing but the best intentions"
"Tell me this isn't the best burger you've ever had and I'll probably ship you back to Toronto before you can say 'medical jurisprudence'" Gail threatened, her mouth filled with food.
"Honestly?" Holly attempted, setting her patty onto the plate and wiping her mouth. "I didn't think the burger would be this good. Who would've thought mac and cheese on top would make it this ridiculously delicious?"
"Uhhh, me Hols, me. I do have some pretty fantastic ideas up here you know" she said, tapping her finger against her head.
"God, I feel like you when you romanticise those cheese puffs" she said, causing both herself and Gail to laugh.
"Take it easy there you dork, the last thing I need is for you to devour that thing in one bite and start choking to death…Is that what I look like when I eat? Because God am I ever sorry" she giggled, earning her a shove on the shoulder.
"Gail Peck, I must say, you know how to please a woman…or me at least" she winked. "So, you've loved me ever since the coatroom kiss huh?" Holly joked, curiously wiggling her eyebrows. She watched as Gail began to chew her food even slower as a blush crept into her cheeks; it was cute. Hard and tough Officer Peck crumbled to the most innocent of sentences and Holly couldn't help but grin knowing that it was her that made Gail's sappy and caring side show.
"I don't recall saying anything relatively close to that"
"Oh, really? Because, I could've sworn that you did, right after the amazing orgasms I gave you" Holly stated nonchalantly, as she sipped her drink and watched Gail's face turn impossibly redder.
Gail began to twirl her straw and avoided looking into Holly's eyes. "I got an hour of sleep that night because my buzzed self kept wondering why you did it and if it meant anything"
Gail sat on the floor facing Holly as she went through the options. "Okay, because you're a giant nerd, I brought The Avengers, or there's Fast & Furious because as much as you deny it, I know you have a soft spot for Michelle Rodriguez. If you want sappy and straight I have The Notebook and if you're feeling even more lesbian I have a copy of Imagine Me & You"
Holly chuckled when hearing the last title. "Gail, have you actually watched that?"
"I didn't know, okay Holly? The girl at the counter suggested it so I picked it up" she said defensively.
"But it even says right on the-"
"Shush, just pick, you loser" she laughed.
"Fine, fine. The Avengers…but totally for the plot, not just Scarlett Johansson" Holly took her glasses off and set them on the side table as she waited. "And when, as well as the real reason behind why, did you watch the movie?" she continued to joke.
Gail rolled her eyes and started the movie before joining Holly on the couch. "Ugh, fine, I did read the back, and it was the day after the batting cages, okay? I was purely just curious" she explained, resting her head on Holly's lap.
After watching about half an hour of the movie, Gail turned on her back to look at Holly. "Hol?"
Holly began gently running her fingers through Gail's hair; it was a small gesture that always seemed to relax the blonde. "Yea babe?" she asked, turning her attention to the softened blue eyes staring back at her.
"You're kind of like my superhero in a way, you know? Except the only bad guy is myself. You save me from me and show me all the time that it was okay to let you in"
Holly smiled down at Gail. Their relationship had been nothing but surprisingly amazing and silently she thanked the heavens every day for bringing them together; for giving her the ability to show Gail that she wouldn't need to create any emergency situations. She leaned her head down and tenderly kissed her girlfriend's forehead. "And I'll keep doing it if you ever need me to because I'll always love you" she replied, her hand resting on the side of Gail's face.
Gail's eyes searched Holly's face, seemingly hesitant and she became visibly nervous. "Hol, I need to tell you something…and you need to promise that you won't go into overprotective-mode and freak out"
Holly looked worryingly back and shook her head, letting her know it was okay to continue.
Gail stared at the ceiling as she began to tell Holly about the undercover operation that she had been a part of long ago. Slowly, she explained that it had run quite smoothly, the man that she had confidently talked with had been placed into custody and all she could think of once it was all done was going back to Andy's to sleep off the long day. But tears crept down her face as the story arrived to the most painful parts and became the Perik case.
Holly's heart lurched inside her chest as her girlfriend went on, saying that she tried and tried to fight him off in the apartment but she felt so helpless; she didn't expect to ever return home. Holly so desperately wanted to freak out. In her head she was. But she battled herself, knowing that at that moment Gail didn't need her to be the worried one; she needed to be strong for the girl whose tears were spilling down her perfect face. She needed to console and comfort the person who was sharing her darkest secrets as a way of letting her know that it wouldn't change the way she felt about her.
Yes, Gail had feared for herself, but the real reason she was haunted by what had happened was Jerry. When Nick had entered her room in the hospital and told her that Jerry hadn't made it she fell apart. She had never seen Traci so broken, so alone, and she thought it was all because of her. It's why she could never be angry with her, never close her off or put her aside; she owed her everything no matter how much Traci tried to tell her she didn't.
For the next few hours, they remained on the couch in complete silence, and instead of watching the screen, Holly found her mind distracted once again. She thought back to the first night she had actually hung out with Gail and spoke about something that was not work related. Two weeks had gone by after exchanging numbers and the meet up at The Penny. Other than seeing each other during work and quickly grabbing lunch, the two hadn't been around each other. It had been close to the end of the week when Gail had texted her after a long double shift asking to meet her at a pizza parlour because she had chased a prep four blocks on foot and was completely starving. During their dinner the officer talked and talked and talked. It was as if she had bottled everything up and saved it just for this petty pizza dinner occasion. And it was during this time that Holly realized in an odd and fortuitous way that somehow they'd become friends.
"I'll give you points for the amazing smell, but should I trust the taste?" Holly joked.
"Wow Holly, last time I try to be nice" Gail responded, fishing spaghetti out of the pot and twirling it onto the fork. "Here nerd, I promise it won't poison you"
Holly willingly took the food off of the fork and let out a hum of approval mid-chew. "Gail this is amazing…like, better than the burger amazing. You need to show me how you made this"
She smiled to herself knowing that she would get that reaction. "Peck secret recipe. I can't tell you until you're part of the fa-" Her filter-less mouth ran before her brain could catch up and her eyes quickly darted to Holly's.
The brunette held Gail's gaze seriously for a moment before she broke into a fit of laughter seeing the blonde's momentary panic. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it when Gail raised her finger in warning.
"No comment"