It had been two weeks since she had heard from Gail. Two weeks since Gail slept in her bed and wrapped herself in Holly's arms. She had woken up that morning to find Gail already fully dressed in her uniform. It seemed as if she was quietly trying to escape the apartment before Holly woke up—and she almost succeeded.
"Good morning" Holly had said sleepily.
"Mmm, yes. I have to go to work. I'll see you later" was all Gail replied with before leaving the bedroom, the apartment, and then Holly's life for the last two weeks.
Initially, Holly had attempted to contact Gail a few times with light-hearted text messages. When she realized that Gail simply was not going to respond she quit all together. The more she considered their current state of affairs the more she realized Gail was probably just scared. Maybe she just needed some time? Holly knew she had seen another side of Gail that night at the hospital and then at her apartment. She had seen Gail completely stripped of the ice shell that protected her. She was raw and vulnerable. Holly assumed that inadvertently showing that part of herself to Holly had frightened Gail off. Hence, the two weeks of complete and utter radio silence. No texts, calls, or even air balloon telegrams from Gail. She even went so far as to avoid her at work, only sending the person she was partnered with into the morgue if they were ordered to go there on a particular shift. Holly was unsure what it would take to make Gail see that her insecurities and vulnerabilities were not going to scare her away. She was uncertain how to maneuver the delicate balance that allowed her to get what she wanted and not rush Gail or push her away further. She was not even in a relationship with Gail and it was already the most complicated relationship she has ever been in. She was more than willing to complete these trials, however, because she knew Gail was worth it. She felt that in their kiss and the way Gail felt in her arms. Now, if she only knew how to proceed.
Gail had been very focused on her work for the last two weeks. She was diligent and methodical at every aspect of her job, but she was silent. Her demeanor was calm but those who knew her best understood that she was like a duck on the pond, calm above the surface but swiftly kicking beneath it. Nobody knew what was going on with her because she rebuffed everyone's inquiries with silence and a deadpan stare. This was worse than her snark and they all were wishing it would return—that the Gail Peck they knew would reappear.
Gail's mind was swimming with thoughts constantly while she was driving the squad car on patrol with Chris. How could she be so stupid as to want to jump into somebody else's arms so soon after the heartbreak Nick had caused her? Was Holly just a rebound? She instantly pushed this thought out of her mind. A rebound was something Gail Peck could handle. Holly was something much more to her and she had certainly discerned it. She was very cognizant that this deeper level of emotion she felt for Holly was the reason she could not bring herself to speak to her in these last two weeks. When she woke up the morning after the hospital wrapped in Holly's arms she felt…at home. This feeling had petrified her and it unquestionably was not something she had experienced before. She was never so at-ease in someone else's presence and she certainly never felt at home in a new place. Hell, she barely felt at home in her own bedroom in her shared quarters with Chris and Dov. She felt at home in Holly's bed and in her embrace, nonetheless. How could someone so easily remove the walls she had spent her entire life composing? Nobody had yet to completely breach them and Holly was so close in such a miniscule amount of time. Gail simply could not figure out what it was about Holly that left her so unhinged. She considered the fact that she would need to move on from Holly. She could not possibly be with somebody who left her so exposed. Vulnerability was a weakness and Holly bared that within Gail. She could not , no, must not proceed she decided. If she kept this radio silence, maybe Holly would move on from her. Perhaps Holly would forget their kiss and the night she held Gail in her arms. Maybe if Holly forgot these moments, then she would, too. While Gail had comprehensively decided that this was the best course of action, she could not help but feel an intense sadness wash over her. Then everything changed with one radio call. It crackled to life to inform all officers that a bomb had gone off at the morgue.
Gail whipped the car around in an illegal U-turn and drove fast and heedlessly towards the morgue screaming at Chris to respond to the call. She was sure they were the closest unit to the morgue and, sure enough, they were the first to arrive. She opened the door hastily and deftly and began running at full speed towards the entrance.
"Gail! GAIL! You cannot go in there! We need to wait for the bomb squad!"
She heard Chris plead, but she didn't care. Holly was in there. Her Holly. She ran through the smoke filled corridors to find Holly's lab. Gail was immediately concerned when the most amount of smoke she had seen was pouring out of Holly's lab area. She ran in with reckless abandon, calling Holly's name repeatedly. Gail found Holly up against a set of filing cabinets. She did not look good. Gail began shouting into her radio for an ambulance and she slid on her knees to Holly. Holly was conscious, but just barely. She looked up from her slumped position against the filing cabinets into Gail's ocean blue eyes.
"Hey, you came" Holly breathed out using her remaining energy to give Gail her trademark lopsided smile.
Then her world went dark.