AN: Thanks to everyone who reads this for sticking with me as I fumble, surely poorly, through writing this story. Your reviews, follows, and favorites are appreciated. (:
Holly was sleep deprived, to say the least. She had run everyone in her lab absolutely ragged and all of their combined efforts had only, thus far, served to prove Gail's guilt—a guilt Holly knew Gail did not have. Holly sat slumped over her metal table replaying her and Gail's greatest hits in her mind, starting with Gail telling her she loved her. She recalled those blue eyes blazing with a passion for her—a belief in her—at a time when those eyes should have showed resignation. Gail's eyes had showed a fierce strength when her own eyes, had the situation been reversed, certainly would have shown defeat or despair. Gail, however, was a fighter. She was stronger than she ever gave herself credit for. Now she needed Holly's strength and Holly felt as if she was doing nothing but making the entire situation worse. Gail had told her she loved her, three times to be exact. The last of the three nearly breathed out in a breathless whisper. When she looked into Gail's eyes at that moment she found love, hope, and passion in those beautiful blue orbs. How, in that situation, could Gail's mind be so focused on Holly and not the mess of a predicament she found herself ensconced in? Holly had wanted desperately to tell Gail she loved her too, but the reply died on her lips as she stared back at Gail slack-jawed. The only things she could hear in that moment, despite the commotion, was the pounding of her own pulse and the lightly whispered declaration of love. Gail had flashed her a reassuring smile as Swarek walked her down the hallway. At a time when she should have been calming Gail and making sure Gail knew how much she loved her, Gail was doing those very things for her.
Holly's mind wandered to the night Gail had danced with her in her apartment. Her iPod was hooked up to the stereo and candles were lit all over the living room and Best Song Ever by Gabrielle Aplin was playing softly through the speakers.
"Seriously, Holly, a One Direction song?!" Gail chastised her.
"Which direction?" Holly quipped. "This is Gabrielle Aplin"
"Well, maybe, but this is a One Direction song." Gail playfully mused.
"Not on my iPod it isn't." Holly chuckled.
Holly swung around and pulled Gail off the couch smiling.
"Dance with me?" Holly waggled her eyebrows while wrapping her arms around Gail's neck. They swayed back and forth melding the curves of their bodies together to form one entity.
"Said I had a dirty mouth, but she kissed me like she meant it." Gail bellowed out, eliciting a laugh from Holly.
Holly looked deep into Gail's eyes—and she kissed her like she meant it. Holly brushed her left hand up Gail's neck to cup her face and drew Gail's lips towards her own. She could feel Gail's pulse quicken under her touch. She crashed their lips together slowly at first but with an intensity that reached it's crescendo when she pushed her tongue into Gail's mouth. Their tongues met wildly and Holly felt Gail's hands slide up from her waist leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake as Gail slid her hands under Holly's shirt to the wire of her bra. Holly gasped as she broke the kiss to move her lips down Gail's neck to her sweet spot. When she nipped and sucked at it Gail let out a breathless,
"…fuck, Holly, what are you doing to me?"
"There's that dirty mouth, again." Holly teased.
"You. Love. It." Gail enunciated each word slowly, grinning back at Holly before kissing her again.
Holly snapped herself out of the memory that felt so vivid and real. She had known for a while that she was in love with Gail. Nobody had ever made her entire world seem to crash down around her feet like Gail did with just one glance. She knew, nonetheless, that she needed to wait for Gail to make the first move lest her vulnerabilities push Holly away. Even without words, Holly had known Gail loved her. Every action Gail made showed her this beyond a shadow of a doubt. The way she stared at Holly when she walked into a room, for an instant frozen in time, her eyes softened and a smile instantaneously tugged at the corners of her mouth. Gail's love was shown in the way she touched Holly, gentle enough so as never to hurt her, yet firm enough to show Holly she revered her. Holly could feel Gail's love in the way she kissed her. No matter if it was a soft peck or a long bruising kiss there was a sincerity and passion in Gail's kiss that Holly had never felt from anyone else before. Gail's thirst for knowledge in the things Holly excelled at showed her love, too. She read Holly's publications; she eagerly soaked in knowledge when Holly shared it with her on a case or at home. She read the books on Holly's bookshelf in her downtime when Holly wasn't with her in order to feel closer to the brunette. Holly would come home and almost always see a different book bookmarked on her coffee table. She loved the quiet intelligence that she found in Gail's eyes. Perhaps the most telling, however, is that Gail would always kiss Holly good morning and good night when they were together, even if they were in an argument.
One morning they were in an argument about something so silly Holly couldn't even recall what caused it anymore. Gail was on her way out the door on her way to work. Her hand was on the doorknob to leave when she turned around and briskly walked back to Holly. She leaned in and kissed Holly with a passion that left Holly wanting to simply melt into a puddle on the floor of her apartment.
"Wh-what was that for?" Holly sputtered out.
"Just because we are in some stupid argument—and even if it were a more serious argument—I could never leave you without giving you a good morning kiss. At the end of the day, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I…that I care about you. That you're my person. How will you know if I don't give you a good morning kiss?"
With that Gail kissed Holly lightly on the lips again and sauntered out the door to work. Holly had always wondered if Gail had contemplated telling her she loved her then and there.
Sitting in the sterile cold atmosphere that was Holly's lab made her ache for the warmth that was Gail. She glanced at her clock; finally realizing that she had been there all night and it was now morning. She needed a break to wrap her mind around where to proceed from here. She had no intention of giving up on Gail and she would exhaust every mental faculty and every resource she had to prove that Gail had nothing to do with this. For now, however, she needed a bit of time away from her lab to gain some perspective, to consider where to go beyond the tests she had already run. What she needed, she realized, was to see Gail. She stood up quickly and purposefully shoved herself into her jacket and left the morgue for the first time in twenty-five hours.
Holly arrived at 15 after what seemed like an eternity. She strode in searching around for Swarek. When she found him she blurted out some bogus excuse about collecting more forensic evidence from Gail (much in the way, she realized, she had come up with the equally lame excuse of a sick courier the first time Gail had kissed her). She bit her lip at the fib she told Swarek and he flashed her an understanding smile. While he was walking Holly down to the holding cells he reported that he hadn't yet gleaned any new information from Gail and that it was his hope that, with a bit more time, she might remember something. He unlocked the door to Gail's holding cell and backed up into the hallway.
"I'll let you have the room," he said as he headed towards the end of the hallway.
Gail looked up from her lap and saw Holly. There it was, the slight pause in all movement, the softening of her eyes, and the smile on her lips. Holly stepped forward and pulled Gail into a fierce hug. Gail buried her face into the crook between Holly's neck and shoulder and stood there breathing Holly in.
"I've missed you so much…" Gail breathed out.
Holly bit her bottom lip before letting her lips form into her lopsided smile. She knew it wasn't an appropriate time to be smiling; yet she couldn't help but smile in Gail's presence.
"Please know that I am doing everything I can…" Holly began, but Gail cut her off.
"Hol, I trust you. I know you won't give up on me."
Hearing Gail say she trusted her had hit Holly almost as hard as the three words she uttered the night before. She knew trust did not come easily for Gail and the circle of people in this world that Gail actually did trust was incredibly small and seemed, generally, to shrink—not expand. Holly felt extraordinarily special to be placed within such an exclusive group in Gail's life.
"N-never. I will never give up on you." Holly said, with conviction. "A-anyways, I came over here because it's morning…"
"Morning?" Gail smiled a small smile at the woman she loved.
Holly pulled Gail's lips to her own and kissed her with all the yearning she had gathered in a frightful night without the blonde. When she broke the kiss she whispered,
"Your good morning kiss. I couldn't let you go through this day without you knowing how much I care about you…and how much I love you."
Gail hesitated before responding, "You love me?" in a whisper.
"I do. God, I do. I am going to figure this out, okay? I promise" Holly said hearteningly and flashed Gail what she hoped was a very comforting smile.
Gail kissed that smile right off of Holly's face. Holly saw Swarek coming back down the hall and backed away from Gail.
"I'll see you later, alright? Don't worry, I've got this. I've got you."
Holly smiled at the beautiful woman she loved as she backed out of the cell. Gail sat down and looked into her lap. Right before Sam shut the door, she looked up into Holly's eyes again. There it was—the strength and resolve but the passion for Holly, as well. These emotions were all swimming in those beautiful ocean blue eyes. When the door was shut Holly spoke to Gail before following Swarek down the hallway.
"I won't let anything bad happen to you. Do you hear me? I promise.
"I know."