Disclaimer: Rookie Blue does not belong to me. I am merely borrowing the characters.
A/N thanks for the reviews guys. Really appreciated.
Gail left the locker rooms feeling more human. Her mother had been right she'd needed the shower.
On the way back to join Holly and her mother she saw Oliver.
"Hi, how's things. I heard about the arrests this morning. Must be hard on Holly."
"Yes it is, I want to take her away somewhere when this is over."
"Hey! Borrow my cabin. There's woods, country, more woods, a lake. Oh and since Diaz fixed the generator we even now have electricity! I'll get Celery to cast a peace spell."
"Sounds perfect. I'll talk to Holly and let you know."
When she got back to Frank's office Bill had joined Elaine.
"Let's leave these two alone for a bit then go and get breakfast together." said Bill and he and Elaine left to sit outside.
"Your mom is amazing." said Holly.
"Yeah? You weren't raised by her."
"True! She's suggested that after breakfast we get my parents into a room and tell them about us. She even suggested we kiss in front of them, 'show, don't tell' or something. Anyway – what do you think?"
Gail had come to recognise when Holly's verbal diarrhoea was covering fear.
"You're scared as hell. Do you really want to do this?"
Holly's face fell. She should have known better than to put on a brave face for Gail.
"Yeah I am. I am really frightened. But you'll be there and it has to be done and... Yes I do want to do this."
"OK Holly but you know they'll be in prison for some time. They can't threaten you any more."
"Yes, but it doesn't stop me being scared."
"Look, you're not alone any more. We face this together!"
With that Holly hugged Gail. She seemed to be holding on for dear life.
Gail pulled back and looked at Holly.
"Come let's get this done."
Holly nodded in reply.
Gail and Holly left Frank's office and went with Elaine and Bill to the canteen.
Once they had finished eating Elaine started to explain her proposal.
"Your parents will be handcuffed to the desk in one of the interrogation rooms. We have to do that, they've been quite violent since their arrests and we think they might be violent to you. What I thought was that we could all enter the room together..."
"I'd like to speak to them alone. The interrogation rooms have one way mirrors, yes?" Holly had interrupted Elaine. Gail immediately grabbed her hand in support.
Elaine nodded. Holly continued: "I'd like the three of you to be behind the mirror. I may ask some or all of you to come and join us at some point. But I want control over this if I'm going to do it please let me do it my way."
Elaine opened her mouth but before she could voice her objection Gail spoke up.
"Of course you should. I came out to my family on my terms and so should you." tears were forming in Gail's eyes as she said these words. Bill nodded, understanding for the first time just how brave the two young women in front of him were.
"Ready?" Asked Elaine and after a nod from Holly she spoke into her radio to ask that Holly's parents be moved.
Once Elaine had confirmation of the move they left the canteen.
Outside the interrogation room Holly waited while the Pecks went into the observation room. She then took a deep breath and entered.
"Holly?" her mother's voice had a touch of hope in it, like she expected her daughter to rescue them.
"Listen carefully to what I have to say. You're not going to find this easy. It is not easy for me either." she paused. Once she was certain she had their full attention she continued "I have fallen in love with someone in this city. I live with her. She's a Police Officer..."
"HER?! What abomination is this?" her father tried to get to her but only succeeded in hurting himself. "ARGGGHHH" then he went into a long quote from the Bible.
Next door Elaine and Bill stood transfixed by the scene in front of them. Gail had taken a step back so they would not see the tears streaming down her face.
Holly left the interrogation room part way through the Bible quote. She went into the observation room and fetched Gail and returned to the interrogation room. Elaine and Bill only became aware of this when they saw Holly and Gail enter the interrogation room together holding hands.
"This is Gail." was all she got out.
"SO THIS IS THE HARRIDAN WHO HAS LEAD YOU INTO SODOM." Mr Lee was interrupted by Holly speaking quietly and calmly.
"She didn't lead me anywhere. If anything I lead her. Gail is beautiful, and incredibly brave..." Holly was again interrupted by Mr Lee.
"WHAT DOES SHE KNOW OF BRAVE. BRAVE IS FOLLOWING THE PATH SET OUT FOR US BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!"
Again Holly's quiet voice calmly took control: "It is from her that I have learned to be brave enough not to run from you like I did in Vancouver. She puts her life on the line every day for the people of this city. How can you sit there and say she is not brave. You're cowardly thugs who hide behind some Bronze age and Iron age book? You've never done a brave thing in your lives." Holly's voice rose with emotion as she said this. Gail slipped her arm around Holly's waist to give support.
Holly turned to Gail: "Let's go get your parents.'
"No need, we're here." Elaine Peck had just walked into the interrogation room.
She continued calmly: "Mr and Mrs Lee you should be very proud of your daughter. She really is quite accomplished. She has had articles published in international journals of science. Most parents would be proud of a child who had done that. The investigating officers will be here shortly to take you for interview. I suggest you be more civil to them than you have been to your own daughter."
With that the four of them left. Gail's arm still around Holly's waist.
After thanking Elaine and Bill, Holly and Gail went to the break room to get some coffee.
"I suppose I should be getting to work." Holly got her phone out of her pocket and rang her boss. After the call she turned to Gail.
"I've been given the rest of the week off. I have been told to stay in the Police Station until the final clear up of the Purity Crusade is finished."
"When that's finished how do you fancy a little time away. Oliver has a cabin he's offered to lend us."
"That does sound good."
"It sounds excellent. Gail you have enough stored leave to sink a battleship. Use some of it." It was Frank. "Oh and Gail, you're not to leave the station until the Purity Crusade has been fully cleared. We need the resources we used protecting you to carry out that task."
It was then that two pieces of news came through. The first was that Mr and Mrs Lee had completed one bomb and the Police didn't know where it was. The second was that Holly had a five year old sister named Ruth. She'd been found in the raid the previous night but no one had known who she was until Mr and Mrs Lee had been interviewed. She was in emergency foster care.
"Ruth? How could I have not known I had a sister. Why didn't they mention it in that letter?" Holly was as close to panic as Gail could remember her being.
"What do you want to do?" Gail knew the best way was to focus on practical steps.
"I'd like to meet her. But I'm not sure that'd be fair. We have been brought up by essentially different parents."
This left Gail confused: "How?"
"My parents weren't always the Bible thumping, well; terrorists you see now. When I was eighteen and just about to graduate from high school my mom miscarried. It badly affected her. She and my dad tried to find meaning in it. Stupid, cos if you how pregnancy works in detail then it seems like a miracle that any children are born at all. They had been mildly religious, went to church at Easter and Christmas that sort of thing. Mom was a high school chemistry teacher, Dad taught biology. They turned into religious fanatics over a year, my first year studying medicine. They went from following the evidence and concluding that the Earth is about four and a half billion years old to believing it is six thousand years old.
"I carried on with the science I'd been taught by, among others, them! I carried on and qualified as a doctor and became a forensic pathologist in Vancouver. Then one night I got a call from my dad, the coitus interuptus didn't help my mood, he demanded that I talk to him at a church. I told him to fuck off. Next morning the morgue was being picketed. He called again that night to say that if I didn't come talk to him he'd get me killed. I believed him and fled.
"I ended up in Toronto by accident. An old friend from medical school needed an assistant in the morgue here. That was five years ago. I had begun to forget about them until that letter came."
"OK we have to get this down." Gail saw the puzzled look on Holly's face. "It's evidence Holly."
"OK!" and then Holly hugged Gail tight with tears streaming down her face.
Across town Ruth was screeching at the top of her voice "MOMMY, I WANT MY MOMMY!"