a little note to this chapter... I did not plan it!

originally I had wanted to go the usual 'let's make Gail a detective, attend the ETF, blah blah blah' but then I thought she deserved something a little bit different, special, because she is special... and different too :P

let's see how you like this piece ;)

Chapter 11 - New Passion

First day back from her leave Gail had to go to the shooting range. Her hands were shaking violently as she was holding the weapon and not able to shoot. Fortunately it was Oliver of all superior officers who was there with her.

"Have you ever shot someone?" asked the young woman.

"I am a police officer for twenty years, Peck. Sooner or later it happens to all of us."

"Maybe I should ask for an exception and carry just a teaser."

"You can kill with the teaser as well."

"But less likely."

"Listen Gail, if it was so easy none of us would have to carry a weapon but there are bad guys out there who do not care about anything and anyone. Sometimes using a gun is inevitable. You did well. You saved your girl and three other officers from a certain death not to mention your own life. If it wasn't you someone else would have to kill him anyway. He was rotten inside out. Now pick up your gun, shoot the damn picture so we can go to get some fresh city air." He pointed ahead with a hint of amusement in his voice.

She did it! She took a deep breath shot the portrait of a villain emptying her magazine. The young woman exhaled and pressed the button to bring the training paper closer.

"Nothing says Emmenthaler better that this pic. At least you passed. Now let's get out," said Oliver with a smile. "So latte and a doughnut for you… maybe I allow you two of those horrible sweet things since you actually passed the re-examination, and a cup of strong black coffee and a sandwich for me."

They took their usual patrol car and browsed the streets looking for any disturbance that would need to be stopped.

"So, how was your vacation?" asked the male officer with a knowing look. "Everything good?"

"Yup." Her lips widened at the memory of their last few days in the cabin which they spent mostly in the bed surrounded by fruits, ice and whipped creams. When they needed a break from their activities they had a walk in the forest, nonetheless the nature did not guarantee the rest every time. "Thanks a lot, Ollie." She handed over the keys still smiling broadly.

"So will you do my paperwork for another week?"

"What? I did not promise that… did I?" she asked all confused.

The man chuckled. "You must had been really drunk. Or your mind is still on cloud nine."

"Both I guess."

He laughed and patted her leg. "I am just glad to have you both back."

Gail arrived to her girlfriend's place with an empty duffel bag to fill it with her clothes. She should move back to her shared apartment to give the doctor her own room back. Holly's flat was spacy and comfortable, the blonde got used to it so much and leaving it made her heart sad plus the fact she would not have her precious person by her side all the time. Damn that woman, she is so addictive!

She sighed and entered the loft. Immediately a nice smell of freshly cooked meal reached her nose while her stomach growled. "Hi," she greeted.

"Oh hello. Ten minutes until dinner is ready." Holly dried her hands into an apron and went to greet her girl properly. She wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist intertwining her fingers behind the back, pecking her lips.

"My stomach saviour," said the officer and deepened the kiss. "I am going to pack." She was about to move but the doctor held her still.

"Really? I thought you liked it here."

"I do. It is spacy, with unlimited hot water and working kitchen robots."

"And you want to leave all this for two-bedroom flat where there are three of you."

"Of course not! But I promised you it would be temporary until the situations calmed down. Now you are back, we are back, better than ever, so it's time to give you your full space without any intruder. Well, I am not sure if you can consider a housekeeper as an intruder anyway."

"Hmm, I can't. My space is one of the very few things I do not mind sharing with you, my bed is the second." She looked to the cerulean eyes with her lopsided grin hoping that the constable got the point.

Gail titled her head. "Are you sure? It will be even harder to get rid of me."

"I noticed that."

"And I won't have time to be a full-time cleaning lady anymore."

"I can live with that."

The other woman dropped her bag and pulled the doctor's head in a heated kiss.

There was a knock on the main door and it opened.

"Oh bullocks," cursed the newcomer. "Sorry to interrupted, I am returning the book," she waved with some sci-fi tome in her hand.

"How did you get here?" asked the blond police worker.

"Keys?" Priscilla clinked them in front of her. "Who do you think kept the flat dustless when you were woo-hoo in the forest?"

"How come she has keys and I don't?" Gail faced her girlfriend again. "I've been living here for almost a month and had to use the spare ones."

"You have never asked for them," responded the scientist.

"Anyway you are moving out now, so… do you need help?" offered the older officer with a bright toothy smile.

"Actually Gail is moving in," said the other brunette with a dreamy look. "But you are welcome to help. I bet there will be loads of things to move."

"Oh no. I'm borrowing another book and off away from here before it gets M-rated."

"Help yourself," replied Holly and captured her partner's lips again until the alarm interrupted their make-out, announcing dinner ready to be served.

Sometimes the easiest tasks turned out to be the most difficult. Nick and Andy were supposed to escort a patient from Toronto mental asylum to Hamilton and they lost him. The Staff Sergeant asked his tracking person to lead the team and find this patient before he would hurt himself. It was a new challenge that Gail would like to try too. Ever since the rescue mission of the certain forensic, the young woman was drawn to this part of police work.

She caught her colleague in the break room sipping the last minute tea. "Take me with you," the blonde blurted out placing her hands against each side of the door frame.

"Tracking?" wondered the other woman.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Gail shrugged. She was not ready to admit her desire to anyone yet. "To get me out. It's better than to be stuck here."

"McNally and Collins are already signed for the mission."

"Ehm," someone cleared their throat from behind the blond constable. It was Frank who wanted to pass through the door into the room.

"Oh sorry," she apologised and moved away.

"Sir, how does it go with Mira?" asked the dark haired police worker.

"The dog trainer said it had potential even though it's a wolf, and as a personal favour he would train it himself." He announced making himself a cup of coffee.

"You are the best!" rejoiced the police woman.

"That I am," nodded the Sergeant with a smile, stirring the coffee.

"I would hug you if you were not holding the cup, really thank you very much."

"That's why I am holding it," he replied dryly and looked at the blonde. "Priscilla, pay the favour forward." He threw her car keys with 1550 chain. When he was leaving Andy and Nick appeared near the break room. "You two are driving 1509 and stay on the south of the city. Anything Silver says, you do."

Gail snatched for the keys and ran to prepare the car with happy sparks in her eyes. She waited on the driveway for her partner to join her.

"You're being unusually chipper this afternoon," commented the brunette.

"It won't kill me to try something new," said the younger woman remembering her girlfriend's usual note.

"Since you are so eager, tell me your plan."

"I thought you have one."

"I do, but you volunteered to a tracking mission so be a help not burden."

"Erm, we are going to road 403 Queen Elizabeth Way to Bronte Creek Provincial Park where the two dumbs lost Baker."

"There we go."

The ride was more or less in silence. In half an hour they reached their goal and left the car to inspect the surroundings.

"What now?" asked the older officer.

"Track him down."

"Obviously but how?"

"You are the tracking master."

"Yes, but I have no connection to this man, so we must do it the old fashioned way. What do we do?" The blonde shrugged. "What do we know about him?"

"Richard Baker, Caucasian male, early fifties', 5 feet 8 inches, about 160 pounds –"

"Splendid," the other police woman rolled her eyes. "I saw his picture. Let's get back to basics. He could not fly away, right? That means he must leave tracks, so let's find them."

"How?"

"Look around. Bloody hell, were you paying any attention at the academy? Look for footprints." She leant against the boot of their car and waited.

"Are you going to help me?"

"No, you wanted some excitement, so work it out." The blonde sighed and carefully measured the ground, every part of it, inch by inch. "Stop right there," called the superior officer and lighten up a chain laser. "Look this is a footprint of the weight about 150. It's not very deep but still visible. Look at the fallen grass, you see the angle? This means it's about four hours' old mark." Gail nodded thoroughly writing the sight in her memory. "Now when you know what to look for, search more."

Truly it was much easier notice the prints when Gail knew what she was supposed to find. They went deeper into the park. Suddenly the tracks disappeared. "What now?" asked the younger partner.

"Look around."

She did and noticed something on the ground ahead of her. "There." She pointed the direction.

"I'll wait for you here then," the brunette sat down on a stamp.

"You should not leave me alone."

"Nah, you can manage. He is no villain, just mentally unhealthy. You can always call the radio for help."

The younger officer set off the way to find out it was only a game of shadows playing her vision. She went deeper into the park looking for more marks. Half an hour later Gail came back empty handed. "It was just a tissue nothing around except a shit," she wrinkled her nose at the memory. "Why don't people use toilets?!" She sighed and looked at her superior. "What do we do now?"

"Look around."

The blonde did and maybe there was something on the left. She headed that way searching every bush properly. The weather was getting warmer but it was nothing good staying outside without a jacket, because of that she knew they needed to find the runaway man soon. Twenty minutes later she was running back as fast as she could. Priscilla arched her eyebrows in question. "Fox," the younger woman breathed out heavily. "Any other idea?"

"They were your ideas, I told you to look around."

"But there is nothing!" she raised her voice. The anger reached her face and ears. She had spent almost an hour going around looking for a madman while her partner was sitting down doing nothing. Priscilla pointed up to the tree crowns. The blonde looked that way and saw a man clinging to a branch like his life depended on it. "You must be kidding me?" sighed the officer amazed. "You knew it all the time and let me browse the park alone for nothing ?"

"Do you really think I would let you go anywhere if it was not safe?" she asked standing up and folding arms on her chest. "Anyway I told you to look around but you decided to just watch the ground. Not my bad. He is so scared that his heart would jump out of his chest eventually and maybe then you could spot him."

"Damn, how do we get him down?"

"Climbing the tree obviously." The brunette shook off her jacket and police belt. "Make sure there are no rocks below," she said and approached the trunk. "Oi, you are the cat, maybe I should let you climb up."

"I am very good at climbing up but have no idea how to get down," she replied cleaning the ground from any objects that could cause an injury like branches and stones.

"Falling down, the same way like me."

"You can't just fall down."

"I can. Benefits of fast self-regeneration."

"Not if you break your neck."

"That's why you are cleaning the ground. But of course we can switch."

"No, thank you."

Priscilla jumped up and reached the branch about ten feet above the ground. "Alright amigo, let's take you to your new home."

"I – I can't," stuttered the poor man.

"Yes, you can. Your heart is beating way too fast. You are scared and you cannot keep this up much longer," she said in soothing voice. "Keep your eyes on me and we are going down." She did not waste another moment and jumped on him. They were falling down however the older officer managed to turn them around so she landed on her back and the man on the top of her. Immediately Gail cuffed the patient just in case and knelt down to her partner.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Knocked out breath," she rasped and started coughing. She gasped for breath and knelt up leaning on her hands catching the air for her lungs.

"That was stupid."

"No, that was the only way not to create havoc. This man is already scared to death. And I know my limits."

Gail reached her radio. "1509 are you ready to finish your job now?" she asked sharply.

"1509 responding," Nick's voice was heard from the receiver. "We are there in ten."

"Mr Baker, sit down please," asked the blond constable and placed the patient on the stumped that was previously occupied by the other police worker. "And you… kneel tight, I'm going for some water," she told her colleague and left to the car.

The transport was successfully finished and the two squad cars reached their home. With a smile on her face Gail changed and was ready to go home when the Staff Sergeant stopped her. "Did you have fun today?"

"Sir? Yes, thank you for letting me go," her grin went broader.

"This was only a small mission but there are others where good trackers are always needed." She nodded. How could someone know more about where her juices were going than she herself? "It is not a shame asking for some lessons from the bests and Silver is the best in her field. Have a good night, Officer Peck."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

The blonde arrived home –oh yes, home, such a sweet fitting word for Holly's apartment– beaming from happiness.

"Hello, my honey, I'm gonna rock you world!" she sang from the doorway. Her partner looked up from the sofa with a book in her hand and arched eyebrows. She placed the tome gently on the coffee table and stood up. Gail dropped her bag and wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck, kissing her soundly.

"I wonder what made you so happy."

"My first tracking case and I found the man," she proclaimed proudly. "Well, almost. But I did track him to the place where he was hiding, I just never thought he would climb up a tree, that was Priscilla's part, but anyway, we rocked the day!"

"You so want to be paired up with her," stated the doctor.

"Nah, she pisses me off too much."

"And yet here you are jumping cheerfully from another successful mission."

Gail smiled broadly and spaced out. "I like this work," she admitted her inner thoughts aloud. "It's like I really do important stuff, you know? And there is so much to learn. I know it's stressful because it's a play against time but it is always going somewhere. Like helping people finding their relatives and bring them home. To be someone's hero at least for a few seconds…" she trailed off and looked down on her feet.

"You are my hero for the rest of my life." Holly pulled the officer's chin up and kissed her tenderly. "Go for it, Gail. I remember the case when Christian was kidnapped, you were all over my place staring at the machines making them work faster. You were alive. I know it was mostly because it was your friend's kid, but the other times you usually just sit at the lab bored so much that you actually read all of my journals."

"Well because those people are already dead. We cannot help them, you can. You speak for dead. For us cops it is a matter of catching the killer."

"Whatever you decide, I will have your back," the scientist supported her. "Heck, I even make Priscilla teach you some."

"I am not becoming a dog. She has it easier with the super hearing and super smell."

"Maybe but still the basics are all the same and she must act like any other tracker, especially when she does not have any connection to the victim."

"Hmpf."

"Of course it's up to you, but it's no shame to ask for help."

"Have you talked to Best?" the blond officer asked suspiciously.

"No, why?"

"He said the same earlier."

"You see, we are right."

"But how could he know?"

"He is a good boss and knows his people," she grinned at her. "So, do you want to go and celebrate at The Penny?"

"Nah, home celebration would be just fine," she said joining their mouths together.

The next morning Gail came to work with a big smile on her face, which she had to keep on minimum display, even though she could not sleep properly considering the idea about her future. Almost whole night she was thinking of pros and cons and if she could or should join the track-team especially now when the detective rotation was coming. She loved her job as it was but finding missing persons gave her excitement, new perspective and importance of police work. It seemed that her job turned a new direction. Or was it her thinking maybe? She was not sure but what she was sure about was a matter of several courses, partnering with her most/least favourite co-worker and absolute freedom from Peck traditions. Nobody could accuse her of having it easy because she was a Peck. She would have to work hard to prove herself but she could do that on her own terms. Especially if it was something she genuinely liked. She found her own way and place in the law enforcement, she just had to last and reach her goal.

Frank was alone in his office so the blond officer knocked on the door and after obtaining a beck to come in, she entered.

"Peck, are you applying for the detective rotation?" he asked but the woman could tell he was not serious. It was his way of starting a conversation where she would spill out her beans.

"Actually, Sir, I would like to sign up specifically for tracking course."

"Are you sure? It is nothing to be taken lightly."

"Yes, Sir."

"Alright." He raked in all of the documents on the table and handed a paper to the young constable. "Sit and fill up this form then." She did as she was told and with a soft yet proud smile she handed it over. "Good. I'll inform Silver when she's back. Most likely she will be your training officer in tracking. Also you will have to attend Emergency Task Force course along with the detective candidate."

"I understand, Sir. Thank you, Sir." She was about to leave when she turned back. "Excuse me, Sir, but where is Silver?"

The older man leant into his chair and sighed. "She is in 14th division now. They have a case of two kidnapped children and one of them was found dead last night."

If it was possible, Gail would get pale and her stomach did a flip. "How can I help?"

"Pray."

The young police worker bent her head and quietly left the room. She would not have to ask how her girlfriend's day was. Having a dead kid on an autopsy table was a strong cup of tea for any pathologist. And maybe it was not a case of 15th division, but child abduction was one of the lowest acts ever. Gail's blood boiled as brain worked its full speed. How can anyone take a child from its parents and kill it?!

Kidnapping anyone was sick but when it came to children it was even worse, especially when the kid turned out lifeless. For a moment she had a flashback to the time when Chris's son was taken away.

"Hey, Peck, you alright?" asked Oliver as they browsed the city in the squad car. It was their last hour and she would be free to go home and share the downside of being a forensic pathologist with her beloved person.

"Hm?"

"You have been more quiet than usual for the whole day."

"Sorry, it's just –" Her phone rang interrupting her thoughts. She noticed it was a national phone number. "Peck," she introduced herself shortly.

"Are you near the Christie Pits Park?"

"Priscilla? About five minutes from there. What is going on?"

"I know where the other child is, I need a lift to the beach. Just please hurry and pick me up, I'll take full responsibility." And the line went dead.

"You will really hate me, but we need to save a kid," said Gail to her patrol partner and hit the lights explaining what she knew about the missing children case of 14th division.

The dark haired police woman was fidgeting at the edge of the road shuffling around. When the car arrived she jumped in on the back seat, "Down to the beach please."

"If it wasn't so damn serious I would recommend calling a real taxi," said the man sardonically.

"My bad."

"The least you can do is enlighten us to the case properly." Oliver was obviously upset because cruising in other district would be followed by tons of paperwork.

"Two brothers 5 and 8 years old, were abducted from the Pits Park five days ago. Parents could not pay three millions so the younger child was found beaten to death and now the assaulter wants five millions. As a warning they have already sent a little finger of the older boy. I returned here to look for some tracks and I could smell salt and fish from the place the little boy was dumped."

"Why did you call Peck?"

"I cannot find my phone book and she is the only officer I could remember."

"There are these things called cell phones, there you can make a list of your contacts," noted Oliver sharply.

"I have a bad habit of losing them. Next left. Anyway I had neither time nor patience dealing with the gits at dispatch, too many useless questions. Hopefully they took me seriously when I told them to check the shore."

"What are you following?" asked the blonde trying to ease the tense atmosphere in the car.

"Sandy-salt tire tracks. Fortunately the weather is not windy nor rainy today so it's not that hard to follow. Another left."

"Can you give me at least some direction?" snapped the male officer.

"I have no idea."

Gail was already used to her friend's –So she is a friend now? Really?!– weird requests because they always had a reason. Also she understood her patrol partner. This was overstepping their authority in another district which would cause a grand trouble. And he had a dinner date with his girlfriend and promised to be on time.

A few minutes later they drove around a building and stopped in front of a high iron gate with wires on the top. For a moment Gail thought she was looking at a prison. Between the metal sheets of the fence she could see a factory building.

"Just great, Silver. Now what?"

"Now I am going in."

"What about a backup?" asked the youngest police worker.

"You are my backup. Lend me your radio and wait for me here, please." Gail handed over one space device they kept in the car.

"Silver, I did not break decades of rules just to let you get killed," growled the older man. "I am going with you. Peck, stay here."

Priscilla threw a stone to the gate which emitted electric sparks. She went back and fished in the boot of the police car and found a pair of wire cutters and rubber gloves. "Let's see what is true about rubber's non-conductivity." She handed the things over to the blond colleague. "Assist, please." Meantime the shorter women looked around, found some wooden barrel and moved it in front of the gate. She took back the tools and climbed up. "Wish me luck."

Gail did not dare to breathe as she watched her friend getting closer to the wires. She closed her eyes and waited for any sound of scream. Instead she felt a gentle nudge to her shoulder and after opening her eyes she noticed a grin on the other woman's face. "Laws of physics. If you respect them, you are safe. But thanks anyway."

The radio buzzed alive. "1534 state your position."

"Dammit," swore the male officer and went back to the car taking the call.

The other police worker returned the tools back to the car and climbed up the barrel again. She turned around to her partners. "Once I am back I will take the responsibility for what you have done. I promise," she said and jumped over the metal barrier.

Gail looked from the disappearing officer to the car where Oliver was talking and then back in front of her. She could not let her colleague go alone and her patrol partner had important things to sort out. She ran to the gate and jumped over the same way as her fellow colleague did. She landed on the ground in a summersault and looked around. They were on some kind of a large place and the building stood about twenty feet away from the gate.

"Oi, you are not Shaw," remarked the brunette.

"He is busy." Suddenly with a horror in her eyes, the younger police worker watched a red dot appear on her vest.

"Damn!" shouted the other officer and with unbelievable speed and strength pulled her partner away behind piles of wood, just when the gunfire began. Several long seconds later it stopped. The two women had splinters all over them but at least they were whole.

"Peck, Silver are you alive!" called Oliver with very worried tone.

"Yup, just a bad landing," responded the older woman and pointed ahead to a painted red X on the ground.

The two police workers shook off the splinters from their hair and clothes and continued their mission. Priscilla tore a larger piece of wood and threw it in front of them on some other painted X which caused another firing. Then she threw second piece onto unmarked floor and nothing happened. "These days people rely on electronics way too much. Follow me." She ordered and they prowled to the building avoiding marked spots.

Gail picked the lock and they withdrew their weapons. "Do you know where to go now?"

The other woman patted a wall where a red smear could be seen. "Blood. I'll give it a chance. Also look at the ground." The blonde noticed a muddy shoe prints about average size. "Someone really likes the shore. And look closely, it seems that the kidnaper is a woman or a petite man." She made a hand gesture to follow and they went as silently as they could.

The traces led them through a hall, stairs up, another hall, more stairs up and long corridor, where on the left there were many doors to various rooms. The police women heard voices, so they hid in a small closet which looked like a store with shelves. They pressed themselves to the wall just behind the door that opened when someone entered. Gail reached for the handle and opened the door even more to hide themselves better. A man in a white coat entered and looked around for something. He scanned his clipboard and marked entries. Taking some small box he left the room closing the door behind him.

"Where are we anyway?" asked the blond officer.

"In a factory I guess. Or more likely a facility according to the firing before."

"Do you think the kidnapper owns this?"

"Peck, I am a tracker not a shrink. Maybe it is just someone who works here and needs to increase their payment since they asked for five millions. Or the owner is the desperate family from whom the children were taken. Sometimes the best hideout is under you enemy's nose." They heard chatting from the outside as many people were passing by. "What time is it?"

"Six o'clock."

"Damn, the shifts are changing, we are stuck here for a while."

"Or let's grab a lab coat and pretend we belong here." Gail looked around and found a pile of clothes. She searched for two white pieces and handed one to her companion.

They dressed up and headed out joining the stream of people getting ready for work.

"Making out in the closet, again?" asked someone from behind them. It was a woman in her late fifties with thick glasses.

"You got me," said Priscilla flashing a broad smile. "She is hot, I could not resist."

The woman laughed and linked their arms leading them somewhere.

The dark haired officer nudged her partner and pointed to the right door. "I'll see you later, tiger," smiled Gail and left the way she was showed to.

It was an empty hall. She discarded the coat and waited. Priscilla rushed through the door almost hitting her friend. "That woman talked way too much." She shook off the extra piece of garment and they both continued their search.

The long corridor connected two buildings and more stairs led down somewhere between tubes and pipes. Suddenly the brunette stopped and held up her hand listening by a door. She leaned to her companion and whispered. "I can hear three voices but only two heartbeats." Gail nodded. "One is fast –could be the child's, the other is normal. Just in case let's assume there are two troublemakers." She looked into the icy blue eyes, "Ready?"

The blonde nodded squeezing her gun tightly, she prepared herself for kicking out the door, but the leading officer shook her head, instead she tried the old fashioned way and just grabbed the handle. The door opened slightly so the two women nodded approvingly to each other and rushed in.

Priscilla disarmed the assaulter who turned out to be a tall middle aged redhead woman. The police officer snarled, her eyes turned blazing green as she slammed the kidnapper against a wall with such a force that she almost kicked out the tall woman's breath. If look could kill the abductor would be six feet under twice. The older officer stood there, one hand under the redhead's neck growling dangerously.

Gail on the other hand hurried to the little boy who was tied in a corner. With soothing words she untied him and checked his injuries that seemed to be only superficial, except for the missing finger. Once the rush of adrenaline was leaving her brain, she realised desperate shouts and calls from a receiving device on the small table in the middle of the room.

"NO. Carl! Is he alright? Don't kill him, not him too! CARL!" it was a voice of a depressed mother crying evident in her tone.

"Calm down, madam," said Gail as tranquilly as she was capable to. "This is officers Peck and Silver from 15th division. We have your son, he is alive." She turned to the little boy. "Come and greet your mom," she smiled at him as he stood up shaking from fear and tiredness.

"Mum?" he spoke unsurely.

"Oh Carl, honey, are you okay?"

"I want to go home," he sniffed and tears rolled down his face. Gail hugged him, stroking his hair.

"Officer Peck?" said a male voice from the other side. "This is detective Andrews, we need your exact position. I am sending a squad there."

The blond police woman informed them about the situation and then turned on her radio. "Oliver?"

"Finally. How is it going?"

"Fine. The boy is bruised but alive and the kidnapper is a middle aged woman who would be lucky if Priscilla didn't tear her apart. 14th squad should be here in a few minutes. Oh and tell them to avoid red X-es on the ground."

Once the redhead got over the shock of the attack she started spitting out and screaming. "Who the f*k are you, b*es?!"

Without a warning the brunette punched her face. "Watch your mouth, we have a child here. Anyway you have the right to shut up because anything you say WILL be held against you." She tightened her grip under the neck choking the other woman.

"Priscilla," warned the partner still holding the little boy protectively in her arms.

"How can a woman take away children and…?" she trailed off. None of them was sure how much the little boy knew about his brother. It was a rhetorical question more than anything else anyway.

Sets of combat boots were heard racing their way on the hall. A team of uniforms entered the room their guns up while looking around. Immediately the smaller woman let go of the abductor, letting her drop on the ground in a sobbing heap of an excuse of a human, and turned to face the entrance in the usual alert position that Gail witnessed a few times before.

"State your name, police reference and phone number," growled the older officer at the team leader.

"Excuse me?"

"For what I know you can be a cheater who is dressed as a police. I don't know people of 14th but I can say if you lie."

"Ryan Swing, 7223, 416-604-5144," he replied without other complains.

"Would you mind going through your phone number again?"

"416-605-5144." Priscilla nodded to her partner to use the phone on the table and call the number. The SWAT leader slowly pulled out a vibrating phone from his pocket and picked it up. "Yes?" his voice echoed in the room from the device on the table as well.

Also Gail quickly scanned his reference in the police database in her phone and found the file and photo which really belong to the man in front of them. "He got it right," she informed.

The other female police worker eased up. "Good. Take her and get the boy back to his parents."

Alas little Carl did not want to let go of the blonde's arms. Actually he began crying again so the younger woman had to go with the team of 14th. They handed the youngster over to the devastated parents. Gail watched them properly hugging their son with tears of joy and despair. She could not imagine what it must be to happily welcome their lost child while preparing for the funeral of the other.

"Are you the officer Peck?" asked the father. She held her own tears back so the only thing she could to was nod. She was wrapped in a family embrace, squeezed tightly. "Thank you so much for bringing at least Carl back."

Gail was driven back to her division by detective Andrews who turned out to be Tobias's older brother. Once the three police workers from 15th gathered back at the station they were called to the Staff Sergeant's office after an unknown detective –probably someone from 14th– left the office.

"What am I going to do with you?" All three had their heads down. "Silver, you were supposed to work for 14th so what the hell did it occur to you to call Peck?"

"It's a habit to call home station whenever there is a problem. It's my fault and I am taking full responsibility."

"Great. I was wondering how to explain that one of my cars crossed the district borders but obviously you can do it for me and more detailed since it was your call," he offered her an evil smile and pushed a pile of papers her way. "Now you two," he looked at Shaw and Peck. "You were not assaulted, you did not have a gun near your head, so how could you dare to cross the borders of other territory?"

"An abducted kid seemed like the top priority at that moment, Sir," Oliver excused their action.

"You should have called the 14th. Who drove the car?"

"Actually –" started the other man but was interrupted by his blond colleague.

"I did," admitted Gail which obtained her a curious look from two pairs of blue eyes. "I was driving and it was my call to follow the request."

"Alright. In that case," the second pile of papers was pushed her way. "Enjoy girls. I am going to spend the night with my family and I expect to have this work done by tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Sir," said all three officers and left the room.

"Peck…?" asked Oliver still in disbelief.

"It's alright, Oliver. I owe you for the cabin anyway," she gave him a half smile. "Go, enjoy your evening. See ya tomorrow."

The women dropped their paperwork heavily on the tables and sat down dully looking at the two piles. The younger woman removed her gaze to her colleague and grinned.

The brunette returned the smile. "It was worth it."

"It really was."

They high-fived the mission accomplished and got busy with creating super good excuses for their recent behaviour.

If Gail looked back, she would notice two older men leaning against the railing.

"How is she doing, Frankie?" asked the grey haired senior officer.

"Better than ever, Inspector. It seems she found her place."

thank you for your time!