Chapter Eight

The place was swarming with cops.

The scene they'd cleared was big, and Gail got the impression that the bodies in the ditch, and the other evidence she'd noticed was just the tip of the iceberg. After all, it wasn't every day you stumble onto a mass grave filled with what looked like a serial killer's life work.

'You can't ever find anything small for me to work on, can you, Peck?' Swarek said, surveying the scene.

'This one's not on me,' Gail said. 'Andy found the bodies.' She watched Swarek's reaction at the sound of Andy's name. The whole "whatever the hell it was that was going on between them" annoyed her; it reeked of double-dipping. Andy just couldn't find someone whose life she could tear apart and just stick with them, could she?

'Yeah, well, Nash was supposed to take this one, but for some unknown reason, she's working with Guns and Gangs again. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Peck?'

'I'm sworn to secrecy,' Gail answered, and Swarek gave her a look, like he wasn't entirely sure whether she was serious or not. They walked back to the perimeter of the scene, where Dov, Andy and Oliver were standing Somehow, news had spread quickly, and already, people were coming to rubberneck.

'We're going to have to canvass everywhere within a pretty big radius,' Swarek was saying. 'McNally, you can ride with me. Peck, you can brief Callaghan when he gets here. Lucky for me, half-a-dozen bodies in a ditch is a pretty good reason to call in Homicide.'

Andy looked uncomfortable, and Gail found herself overcome with Schadenfreude. It wasn't the kind of word that was usually in her vocabulary, but for some reason she had a lot of options available for describing other people's pain.

One thing, more than anything else, told her that this was going to be very, very big; Callaghan was on his way. He was like a siren. Or a lighthouse.

No, wait, that wasn't right. Gail frowned as her brain searched for the right word, but then she realized that she didn't care. He was one of those people that only ever seemed to be around when the shit hit the fan.

'It looks like the area might have been used as more than just a dumping ground,' Gail told him, and he gave her a look, so she continued. 'There're a few spots where the grass is disturbed, a bit of blood that didn't get cleaned up, plus some stuff he might have accidentally left behind.'

'Show me,' was all Luke said. Forensics was already on the scene – about six that Gail had seen so far, which meant there were probably more, which meant that Holly might be down with the bodies. A couple of guys in full body suits were snapping pictures of one of the trees.

She took him for a tour around the scene, ending at the ditch full of bodies. One of the figures crouched at the side was Holly, and Gail resisted the urge to call out to her. Even still, Holly seemed to hear the sound of their voices, because she turned, and gave a short wave.

'Peck.' Gail jumped at the sound of Callaghan's voice. Holly grinned up at her, before turning back to the bodies. Callaghan wasn't paying attention to either of them, but that didn't mean that Gail wasn't feeling just the slightest bit uncomfortable.

'You be okay to hit the morgue?' he asked, and he wasn't even smirking.

'Yeah, I guess I could manage that,' Gail said, lightly. If he didn't know, she wasn't going to be the one to tell him. It was true, they'd been keeping things kind of low-key, but that didn't always seem to mean much in a station full of people trained to spot things that were out of place.

With no small amount of caution, Gail edged down into the ditch, trying not to retch at the smell that had overcome her. 'Hey,' she said casually, trying not to make it look too much like she was too happy to be there.

'Hey,' Holly replied warmly, though she didn't look up. The look on her face was one of concentrated elation; it amused Gail that there was someone out there that found dead bodies so satisfying. Most forensics people Gail had worked with generally got upset when the cops hung around too much. Holly, on the other hand, seemed to be invigorated by her presence, but then, maybe that was because of their…extra-curricular activities.

'What does it look like?'

'This one hasn't been here long,' Holly answered. 'A couple of weeks, maybe. So a while, but not really, compared to some of the others. Not too much decomp.' Gail nodded, as if the words meant something to her.

'How many?'

'At least five, probably more,' Holly answered. 'I won't know until I get them back to the lab.'

'I guess this means dinner's out of the question,' Gail sighed.

'You know, I'm not the only person that works there,' Holly said, amused. 'I can probably avoid staying past midnight. Maybe grab some Chinese, watch a movie, go climb a mountain.'

'You're hilarious.' Gail rolled her eyes.

'Might have to get an entomologist in,' Holly said, as an aside, and then, apparently noticing the blank look on Gail's face, she added, 'Bug scientist.'

'Oh, right,' said Gail, off hand. 'I must've been thinking of something else. So that's for what – seeing if the bugs can tell us how long they've been here?'

'Among other things,' Holly said. 'Weather conditions, level of exposure, whether or not the bodies have been moved...' She trailed off a little. 'Everything okay? Usually you would have told me to shut up by now.'

'I find it interesting,' Gail said, defensively. 'I just don't always understand it.'

'So sarcasm is your defence mechanism for lack of knowledge.'

'I admit to nothing.'

'Of course. But you're going to go home tonight, and read up everything you can on forensic entomology so that you don't sound like an idiot next time you come across it.'

Gail knew Holly hadn't meant it in that way, but the word "idiot" still stung a little. It only further highlighted the huge differences between them. The rift that might never fully close.

'Everything okay?' Holly's brow was furrowed with concern.

'Yeah, I just–' Gail cut herself short. 'I was just thinking.' Self-doubting was probably a more accurate term. Or "making up an emergency situation to get out of the goddamn tree."

No.

She wasn't going to do this. She wasn't going to let herself destroy the one tiny glimmer of happiness that she had seen in so long, over her dumb-ass insecurities.

'So I guess they need a responsible officer to accompany the forensic pathologist and give everyone else updates.'

'Oh, wow. Where are they gonna find a responsible officer at this time of day?' Gail gave Holly a soft elbow to the side, and resisted the urge to pull her into a kiss in front of a dozen other people. Maybe this "mass grave" thing wouldn't be completely horrible after all.

...

Gail was surprised by how much she liked the morgue (and that had nothing to do with the forensic pathologist that happens to frequent the place).

It seemed a little macabre when she thought about it, but it was quiet, and it was calm, and there was no-one there judging her.

Even today, though, Gail was starting to get a little tired of...well, everything. The Nick and Andy thing was just one more thing that had piled on top of an increasing pile of stress.

Maybe she needed a holiday.

Or a "take a week off work and stay at home" thing, which was essentially the only kind of holiday she really liked these days.

Somehow, she had taken on the role of "semi-helpful lab assistant," which she didn't entirely mind, because as much as she did kind of enjoy spending time with Holly, she felt a little useless just sitting around waiting to report the findings back to Callaghan.

There were eight bodies in total, based on the number of bones. They ranged from "mostly bones with a little bit of flesh," to "mostly flesh with a little bit of bones," which was about as detailed as Gail could get. Still, she was learning, which would come in handy the next time she had to do a pig autopsy.

It was intriguing to see how things were done behind the scenes, and just as intriguing to figure out the way Holly's mind worked. Medical training aside, she seemed to pick up on things that Gail would have missed, and her mind made connections in a different kind of way.

The work kept them busy until late evening, when Callaghan came by and point blank ordered Gail home. 'I want you out canvassing tomorrow, and there's a lot of ground to cover.'

'So,' said Holly, once Callaghan left. 'How about that dinner?

…

"Dinner" started off as Chinese takeout on Holly's couch, while they watched Star Wars. Things escalated quickly, though, which led to Gail suddenly realizing that they had moved onto The Empire Strikes Back.

'I like this one,' she said, grabbing a handful of popcorn. 'So you can't distract me.'

'You know, for someone who makes fun of nerds, you watch a lot of nerdy things,' Holly commented wryly.

'Know thy enemy,' Gail responded. 'But still, not a big fan of The Art of War, unfortunately.' She did know what book it was from, and decided to take the points that might have given her.

'Do you want pancakes?' Holly asked, unwinding gracefully as she got up from the couch two and a half hours later.

'The answer to that question is always going to be a yes.' Gail did not want to get up, so she didn't.

Holly's nightshirt just barely covered the back of her thighs, and Gail felt absolutely no shame in staring. Holly had a casual sort of elegance; a stark contrast to Gail's rough edges and awkward angles. Even making pancakes half naked, Holly seemed chic. Her lifestyle was very different to Gail's Holly did things make pancakes from scratch, and clean the kitchen properly, and use a French press. Gail was lucky if she didn't manage to burn her toast. Their coffee machine (that Dov had apparently picked up from an antique store) hadn't been cleaned properly in six weeks, and was starting to become a fire hazard.

'So, thought about where you're going to move when your lease runs out?' Gail asked, trying to fill the lull in conversation, as they sat at the small table just off from the kitchen. It wasn't until the words had come out of her mouth that she realized how suggestive they sounded. Then, she got caught up trying to figure out if she wanted her words to be suggestive. By the time she'd gone through this thought process, Holly was halfway through her answer.

'Oh, I didn't tell you? I got a reprieve; they decided they aren't going to sell it for another six months, so I've got until then to figure something out. Might be time for a change. Save up a deposit. Or maybe sell everything and move to Hawaii.'

'Mmm,' Gail said, smiling. 'Lots of great cocktail places. Wouldn't want to live there, though.' She scarfed down a whole pancake, ignoring Holly's amused look.

'Not even for the beaches?' Holly asked her. ' And don't forget about the volcanoes, maybe a rainforest or two...' She laughed when Gail's expression morphed into an even deeper grimace. 'How else am I going to get you into a bikini?'

'You've seen me naked, how is a bikini a step up on that?' Gail queried, trying to ignore the subtext in the statement.

'I'm not allowed to like both?'

Gail didn't have an answer for that, so she reverted to the age old tactic of changing the subject. 'What exactly is the appeal of rainforests, anyway? It's just...I don't know...trees.'

'So not liking sports extends to pretty much anything outdoors?' Holly asked, sounding more than a little disappointed. Gail didn't know what to tell her. Her childhood hadn't exactly been conventional. Her parents had tended to conflate "camping" with "survival training." To be ready for anything. It was the same attitude that had turned their overseas family vacations into chores more than anything else.

All the preparation in the world couldn't have prepared her for insane forensic pathologist that had fallen into her life.

'Maybe I've just been doing things with the wrong people,' Gail said, which did seem to settle Holly just a little bit. She rinsed off her plate, and loaded it into the almost-full dishwasher.

'Are you...staying the night?'

Gail sat on the question than for far longer than should have been normal. Part of her wanted to stay, but she was kind of drained, and she actually needed to sleep, rather than...do other things. It was true that Holly's bed was way more comfortable than hers, but staying the night would keep her on edge.

She couldn't miss Holly's expression dropping slightly when she said, 'I think I might just go home. It's been a long day, and we both have to be up early tomorrow. Callaghan won't be impressed if I sleep in in the middle of a murder investigation.'

'You know, you can stay here without us having to do anything,' Holly said, and Gail wasn't entirely sure, but Holly sounded almost irritated. It was something that Gail had yet to experience properly (though of course, she knew Holly wasn't exactly a robot). There had been exasperation, and maybe a little bit of impatience, but not outright anger.

Gail had no idea whether or not this was some kind of secret ultimatum. Something where if she said no, Holly would just disappear off the face of the planet, and Gail would never see her again.

She stepped forward, closing the gap between them, and pressing a long, passionate kiss to Holly's lips. 'I swear, I'm not trying to be distant,' she said. 'And I'm not trying to make this all about the physical side of things. I just...I'm trying, but being around people is hard for me, and sometimes I just need to...decompress.'

'Thank-you,' Holly said, and Gail was utterly confused. Why was Holly thanking her for not wanting to stay the night? Apparently, the confusion was evident on her face. 'For telling me,' Holly finished.

Gail grabbed her bag, and slung it over her shoulder, stopping only to give Holly a kiss goodbye. 'See you tomorrow?' she said. 'If I get a chance to drop by the morgue, that is.'

The door clicked shut behind her, and Gail tried to pretend like the chasm wasn't there, but it was.

A/N: Reviews, in addition to being much appreciated, are scientifically proven to help me write faster (Additional note: my scientific qualifications came from a cereal box).