Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I smashed this out before I flew out on holidays. Was originally two chapters but I compacted into one. Will have to wait for me to do more writing. Though have done about 2,500 words of next chapter.

Thanks to those who reviewed.

Gail got the hint. Holly, her family, her friends and everyone else wanted them to get married. She wanted to get married and she had teased Holly enough that she was going to propose so she guessed she better hop to it.

Not that she wasn't prepared. She had the ring, had gotten it one Sunday dinner when she had been taken aside by Cameron and asked, relatively seriously for his standards, what her intentions were. As soon as she had told him she loved his daughter and wanted to be with her all her life he had told her to wait where she was and disappeared for 5 minutes. He came back shortly after with something in his hand and gave it to her. Her jaw had dropped on seeing the jewellery box and she had gasped upon opening it and seeing a ruby and diamond engagement ring.

"It was my grandmothers" he had told her "given to me to give to the person who would marry Holly. When I met you and saw how you and Holly were together I had it cleaned in preparation"

"Are you sure?" She had asked

"Are you?" He had countered and when she had nodded stated "then I am too"

She had looked at the ring, a large ruby set into the band, surrounded by a swirl of diamonds that came up from the band. The ring was beautiful and she couldn't have picked better herself. The red of the stone reminded her of Holly's lunchbox.

So anyway tonight was the night. She was going to propose to Holly. With some help from Hayley and Andy who had a secret mission to sneak into their house while they were out to dinner and set up the next stage. Hayley was teasing the crap out of her since she asked two weeks ago. Andy thought it was romantic and was keeping Hayley in line.

Their friendship hadn't seemed to suffer by Hayley admitting she had feelings for Andy, not publicly anyway, who knew about privately. Besides which Andy had given Hayley the confidence to be herself around family and friends, supporting her with her packing and standing beside her when she had first done it in front of her family. Everyone handled it well. Hayley was full of a new confidence from it.

But anyway, back to the present. So tonight they were going out, back to the restaurant at the hotel where Holly had first kissed her in the closet. Gail smirked as she paused in putting on her lipstick. She wondered if Holly had figured out the clues yet. For the last few weeks since their one year anniversary, cause they both admitted it was pretty much lust at first sight at the crime scene, Gail had slowly been reliving those moments with Holly.

She had taken Holly for lunch, back to a park near their meeting spot one year to the day after she met Holly. When she had pointed out where they were to Holly her lover had gone all misty eyed and kissed her right there in the middle of the park. Gail had spent the rest of the day sitting in the corner of Holly's lab, reading the books she had published and watching her work. At the end of the day Holly had said

"You know I'm a lesbian right?"

"Hmmm and I hate men" Gail had grinned "perfect match" They had shared a light kiss and left.

A few days later she had taken Holly to the batting cages where she once again made a monumental fool of herself in between drinks at the bar. They hadn't laughed as much in a long time and Gail didn't care the joke was on her. Especially not when Holly had come to stand behind her in the cage, wrapped her arms around her and tried to help her hit the ball. She had failed miserably after her brain fried at the press of Holly's front along her back. They had barely made it in the door that night before clothes had been discarded and they had come together passionately.

They had gone to the Penny for a quiz night and Holly had made her proud by trouncing everyone, even Chloe and Dov combined. No blind date on this night to get her jealous. She had even managed to get Holly to the station for a passionate make out in the interrogation room while Oliver and Andy stood watch at the door. Jesus she was really going to owe Andy after all this.

"Hey you about ready yet?" Holly knocked on the bathroom door and Gail came out of her reminiscing and stepped back from the sink, looking herself over critically in her little blue dress that matched her eyes (yes yes most people did black but that was too stark on her). She looked good she nodded and went over to open the door.

Her jaw dropped and her breath caught in her throat at seeing Holly standing there similar to what she had warn to Frank and Noelles wedding. Down to the leather pants. OMG could she just skip dinner and stay home. Yeah good idea, no wait proposal, had to go out.

"Wow" she managed to croak

"Straight back at you Peck" Holly grinned and stepping in closer bent down slightly to kiss her quickly

"Hey watch the lipstick, I just got it right" Gail teased as she stepped back and Holly grinned

"Still beautiful Gail, very beautiful" Holly assured and smirked when Gail blushed. Still had some problems with compliments. "So where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise" Gail grinned and Holly just rolled her eyes as they made sure they had everything and made their way to Get their coats and head out. Once in Holly's car Gail sent Hayley and Andy a quick text saying they were heading out and to do their stuff. Then she started the car and drove to their destination.

Holly sat in relative silence as the streets passed and she started to put together their possible destination. The last few weeks had been magical. Gail had surprised her with her mushiness, reliving how they met and turning their first few meetings into dates. She was shocked that Gail remembered the day they met down to the exact moment. They had both admitted they were struck with each other that first day.

Holly had known it was attraction straight up. It had taken Gail longer to understand why she felt so comfortable around Holly and why she liked her so much. Gail understood now. As their drive progressed Holly realised her suspicions were right. They were heading to the Hotel where she had first kissed Gail in the closet. A very expensive hotel.

Nerves started to flutter in Holly's stomach as the significance of the night hit her, Gail was going all out, was taking her out to a fancy restaurant, did that mean... No she wouldn't get ahead of herself. Gail pulled up in front of the hotel and the assistants came forward to help them out of the car. Gail handed over the keys and stared at the young man before glancing at his name tag.

"Gary, I'm a cop, I know how many miles are on that car and I know that it doesn't have a scratch on it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Gail really?" Holly groaned but the pimple faced young man in the uniform just swallowed hard and nodded

"Yes ma'am" he croaked before gingerly getting in the car. Gail grinned and headed over to take Holly's arm, leading her inside and leaving the valet to sweat. She gave her name and was led to a table for two in a quiet corner of the restaurant.

Once seated Gail smiled at Holly who was watching her closely and beamed "So, you think they'll let us have desert in the closet?" She asked and Holly couldn't help but laugh. Good Lord she loved this woman.

Hayley and Andy let themselves into Holly and Gail's place, Hayley carrying 2 large bags and Andy carrying a large stuffed bear. The bear was in top hat and tails with glasses and held a red love heart. Andy checked for the millionth time that the ring was still pinned to the back of the love heart underneath the words "Marry me".

"This is so corny, how did I get dragged into this again?" Hayley grumbled and yelped when Andy smacked her.

"Stop complaining and get to it, we got a bit of work to do." Andy rolled her eyes and headed up the stairs where she presumed the bedroom was. Once they finished with the bedroom they had to go to the bathroom and finish off there. Then they had to wait for Gail's signal, do one last job and get out of there fast.

"Well I hope they've put all their toys away" Hayley sighed and Andy rolled her eyes

"Not everyone uses toys in the bedroom Hayl's"

"That's right, you went out with assholes who were happy when they got off" Hayley mumbled "did you ever come with them?"

"Hayley!" Andy growled and Hayley grinned then shrugged

"What I'm just saying. Most men aren't adventurous from what my straight friends tell me. And forget foreplay. Once they are hard they want in and once they are done they want out. Forget cuddling after"

"God you're impossible" Andy muttered pushing open a door and locating the master bedroom stepped inside "Jesus these two are neat freaks"

"That would be Holly, she is compulsive. Drives Gail nuts" Hayley leant up against the door jamb and looked around the large spacious room. At least the place wasn't sterile white and steel like a morgue. Andy placed the bear on the floor and grabbed the bag Hayley was carrying, peaking inside and pulling out one of the bags of rose petals

"You gonna help me spread these?" She asked Hayley who shook her head

"Can't we just throw them in the air and they fall where they fall" Hayley complained

"God help your girlfriend" Andy sighed

"After seeing all this effort I don't want one" Hayley grumbled and pushed off the door jamb to help cause she just couldn't say no to the darn woman.

With Andy guiding her they managed to scatter white rose petals over the bed and bedside tables. Then opening a bag of red rose petal they concentrated them in a pattern of a big red heart. Andy fussed over it until Hayley about blew a gasket and said it was fine. Andy took a photo for prosperity and to send to everyone else after the fact to see what lengths Gail went to.

Picking up the teddy bear and the remaining bag they headed for the bathroom. Here they spread candles and incense over every available space, a few more red petals on the floor. Then they had to sit back and wait for Gail's next message so that they could run a steaming hot bath, pour in the bath milk and scatter more petals on the water then leave.

They sat down on the couch together, Andy snuggled up to Hayley and they watched TV. They had to be careful not to leave a trace of themselves downstairs. They also had to be careful not to fall asleep if it got later which is why they had both phones ring tones set to high. Sighing in pleasure she cuddled in close and didn't complain when Hayley decided to watch NHL.

Long minutes later Hayley asked

"Am I really a bad girlfriend?"

"Nice try" Andy smirked and Hayley sighed "you'll make someone a great girlfriend one day" Andy promised and pat her leg "now watch the hockey"

"Yes dear" Hayley deadpanned then grinned as she pulled Andy in closer and relaxed.

It had been a great night out, dinner and then a fancy little bar where they could have drinks. Holly had been waiting patiently, checking her glass for a ring, chewing her food carefully, waiting for Gail to go down on one knee. Then she had kicked herself for being a fool. Gail wasn't a public person. Tonight was just a lead up. A nice date to add to the list of last years events that were to be repeated.

Gail would make sure the proposal was low key. Just the two of them at home. Probably after putting up with watching the Maple Leafs play. She would just put it out there. It would be perfect. She frowned and looked at her watch, Gail had been in the toilet for over ten minutes now. Holly was worried something was wrong and was just starting to get up when Gail came out of the hallway that led to the restrooms.

"You ok? You took a while"

"Yeah I noticed I missed a call from Andy earlier. Hayley wanted us to go around and watch a Hockey game that was on tonight. I apologised and said we were on a date"

"Hayley's at hers again? God when is she going to realise they are dating and stop fighting it already" Holly rolled her eyes and helped her lover into her coat before shrugging into her own.

"More to the point when are they going to realise Hayley has the better and bigger place to hang at" Gail laughed

"You know Hayley sleeps over, actually in Andy's bed" Holly sighed

"Yeah Andy dropped that pearler months ago. I thought it might have stopped after your birthday" Gail rose a surprised brow happy with the current conversation as it settled her nerves and got Holly off track. Any suspicions her lover may have had that something was going on were now quashed as they headed outside and hurried towards their car.

"Nope. If anything it's more frequent from what Hayley said" Holly didn't appear all that comfortable with the fact.

"Well you know what they say. De-nial ain't just a river in Egypt" Gail grinned and opening the car door for her lover waited for her to get in before hurrying around to the drivers side and sliding in. Starting the engine she cranked the heater "I swear we are retiring to Miami or the Bahamas or somewhere warm"

"Whatever you want officer" Holly winked then leant in and gave Gail a kiss. "Thankyou for a wonderful evening. I had a wonderful time"

"It ain't over yet sweetheart. I was thinking bath and then bed"

"Sounds wonderful" Holly sighed.

"Good then when we get home you head upstairs to the bathroom and get the bath ready and i'll organise the drinks" Gail gave her one last kiss then pulled back to concentrate on driving.

The minute Holly stepped into her kitchen off the front porch she knew someone had been in the house. There was a distinct smell of pizza and the remotes for the TV were left on the couch when she distinctly remembered they had been on the coffee table. She looked at Gail who was busy hanging their coats, showing no indication she thought anything was wrong. Which meant something was going on.

Playing along for now she took off her coat and handed it to Gail. Receiving a deep kiss from her lover she allowed Gail to call a halt and urge her towards the stairs. Ok she would follow the script, definitely noticing the emphasis on bathroom, which meant no detour to the bedroom to kick off her shoes.

Making it to the top of the stairs she headed to the bathroom, pretending not to hear Gail trying to sneak up behind her on the stairs. Yup something was going on and her heart started to beat out of her chest as she pushed open the bathroom door and gasped.

It was so beautiful. Gail had organised this for her? The room was lit by candles with some rose incense burning. A steaming bath awaited them and on the surface swirled red rose petals. What caught her attention next was a teddy bear in top hat and coat with a miniature pair of her glasses on. He was so cute.

She became aware of a presence behind her and turned to find Gail standing behind her with a very expensive bottle of champagne and two flutes. Oh yes something was definitely up. She knew for a fact now someone had been here. Putting together the smell of pizza, her mistreated remotes and Gail's phone call she said "you went in debt to Andy and Hayley for this?"

"For you" Gail smiled and brushed past her carefully to put the bottle and glasses next to the bath while her heart beat out of her chest at what she was about to do

"Gail this is amazing, no one has ever done this for me before" Holly remained rooted to the spot staring

"Lucky me" Gail straightened and went to the bear "dammit they still screwed up. They were supposed to get one with writing on it" she turned to Holly and showed the blank love heart "it was supposed to say I love you" she pouted before turning the ted back around to face her and pretending to fiddle with it "oh wait, it says something here, someone stuck the heart on back the front" she turned the heart around and stuck it back in the bears hands and taking a deep breath and swallowing hard turned it back around to an expectant Holly.

Holly knew it was coming, she really did, but It didn't stop her body from going still with sudden shock, or her mouth going dry so she couldn't speak, or stop the tears from pooling in her eyes and sliding down her cheeks. Love for Gail filled every pore of her and for what she had gone through and organised in order to make her proposal memorable. Stunned, elated, so in love she wasn't able to speak she nodded and watched the tension drain out of Gail who had been standing there for long moments waiting. She hadn't known if Holly's reaction was a good or bad one.

Neither was sure who moved first but soon the bear was squashed between them as they shared a long hard kiss and whispering words of love. Finally Holly pulled back and took the bear, holding it up for a closer look. She froze again in wonder as she saw what was attached.

"Oh my God" she breathed as she stared at the beautiful ring

"Oh yeah. Do you like it?"

"Gail that's my great grandmothers ring!" Holly was speechless she loved that ring as a child

"Um yeah you're dad gave it to me. Is that ok?" Gail asked worriedly "I can get you a new one"

"NO" Holly practically shouted then seeing Gail's stunned look added "I always loved this ring"

"Oh well she gave it to your dad to give to the person you were going to marry, which is me" Gail paused and grinned widely when the realisation hit her oh yeah "lucky me. Marry me Lunchbox. Be my sexy nerd wife forever."

"Yes yes a thousand times yes, help me get it off so I can put it on" Holly handed over the bear for Gail to hold while she undid the pin and slid the ring off. Placing aside the bear Gail took the ring and slid it onto Holly's ring finger. It fit perfectly which surprised them both

"Your dad had it cleaned before giving it to me, maybe he got it sized too" Gail murmured distractedly

"Maybe" Holly cupped her face and pulled her into a deep kiss. Between kisses and caresses and words of love they slowly undressed each other until they were both naked and then stepped into the bath. Gail retrieved the bottle of bubbly and the glasses and they sat snuggled together in the bath.

"I can't believe you went to all this trouble" Holly sighed while holding up her hand to Inspect the ring "you've been building up to this for a few weeks"

"Noticed did you?" Gail smirked

"It's all come together now" Holly grinned and hugged Gail tight "I feel like a princess"

"You're a nerd princess" Gail chuckled then leant back over the bath, giving Holly a glimpse of a perfect white ass before she plonked back down with her phone and started typing away "Sorry I gotta tell Hayley and Andy you said yes or they will likely call us at the most inappropriate moment"

"Tell them to pass it on to others, don't bother us on the weekend and we will meet everyone for drinks Sunday"

"Really? Ok fine" Gail sighed at the prospect of Nicola organising another party. She quickly typed in

Hey guys. Good news. Can you please pass on to all 'Holly and I wish to announce our engagement as of this evening. I asked, she accepted. No calls. We will meet all for drinks Sunday at 8pm at the Penny'

She quickly sent it and placed her phone down, hopefully out of the splash zone. She gave her lover...fiancé a smile and taking her glass placed that aside also.

"So fiancé. What shall we do next?" She asked with a smirk and liked Holly's answer when she pulled her in for a deep kiss.

Long minutes later they staggered out of the bath on wobbly legs and dried off. They took a moment to blow out all the candles and Gail rescued her phone from the soaked floor, luckily it was still working. Taking Holly's hand she led her into the bedroom and pushed the door open. They both stopped in shock at the sight before them.

"Wow" Gail murmured "Andy really came through"

"It's gorgeous"

"I just told them to scatter them on the bed!" Gail shrugged and held up her phone "should have taken pictures of the bathroom" she muttered as she snapped a few photos of the gorgeous bed.

"If I know Andy she would have done that." Holly smiled and Gail froze

"Oh god, she's probably sending them right now" Gail groaned and Holly came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her, leading her towards the bed. She snatched the phone out of Gail's hands and threw it on the bedside table.

"Baby right now I don't care" Holly kissed her neck and Gail groaned "The only thing I care about is making you scream"

"No objections" Gail grinned and eagerly turned in Holly's arms.

Andy heard her phone go off just as they were walking in the door to Hayley's place. She had never been to Hayley's place before. Hayley had insisted though considering hers was closer than Andy's after they just got out of Holly's on time. Who knew the bloody bath would be so slow to fill!

She took her time taking off her jacket and giving it to Hayley to hang before looking around. Hayley had the penthouse of a converted warehouse. It was pretty much an open plan living area to one end, only much bigger than hers, actually bigger than her whole apartment. Nearly twice the size in fact. It was all modern and sleek design and very masculine. With hardwood floors, large comfortable furniture predominantly in black with highlighted red and greys. A massive TV hung off the far wall in front of a very comfortable looking lounge shaped in a U around it. The sound system looked impressive from where they were standing.

The dining table sat between it and the sleek modern kitchen. The table sat 12 easy. Once again black. Black glass to be exact with black high top chairs. The kitchen was again black, marble shone everywhere. Colour was brought in by red appliances and other nick nacks. The ceilings were high, the height of a two story building. It made everything seem bigger.

Opposite the kitchen, lining the whole wall was a large aquarium filled with an abundance of fish. It had a blue backing light which must give off an eerie glow at night. She walked over to it to see what she could see. She wasn't surprised to find it full of ornaments of sunken pirate ships and treasure chests. She smirked upon seeing the topless mermaid figurine.

"I wish I could take credit but the guy before me had it, I inherited it an the maintenance guy that comes in once a week to clean and make sure they have enough food" Hayley shrugged "they are on an automatic feeder since I'm not around much recently"

"It's awesome" Andy breathed "why do you stay at my apartment again? If I had this I wouldn't be staying at mine, and it's not even cold, with all this space it should be cold"

"Well ok, how about we stay here from now on?" Hayley grinned and ignored Andy's pointed look as she took her by the hand and led her towards the hall into the back of the apartment "oh and I have remote central and floor heating, keeps the place warm. I turned it on while we were at Holly and Gail's using my phone"

"Jesus" Andy breathed, she knew Hayley was rich but with her friend never flaunting it and being down to earth she sometimes forgot. The rest of the downstairs had a laundry room with extra toilet, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Taking the stairs up to the next level they entered into a small foyer. The stairs continued up to where Hayley said she had access to the roof and outdoor space she would show her sometime.

Walking through the small foyer and around to the left then a quick sharp right and they were in Hayley's bedroom. A large king size bed dominated the right wall. On it was a black red and silver bedspread with dragons and Asian themes. As she stood in the entrance to her right was a door that led into a large walk in robe which was nearly untouched it was so big and to the left was an open bathroom with only a toilet shut off. The shower was behind a discrete angled chest high wall but the jacuzzi was open to view and looked out over the city through one way glass.

Opposite the bed hung another large TV on the wall with two large speakers next to it. On the far end of the room was a little kitchenette. Mini bar fridge, microwave, kettle and sink. Everything was a mini version of downstairs. Same colouring and everything.

"Jesus this place must cost a fortune" she breathed awed

"Previous guy went bankrupt. Dad bought it for me for a song last year for my 21st. Only had to furnish it which wasn't hard, luckily the colour scheme suited my style."

"Jesus. What's a song? This would have cost millions"

"I dunno." Hayley shrugged "I didn't want to accept it at first but we've agreed when I've got my own practice and earning money he will tell me and I will start paying him back, slowly. Oh and his pets get free checks"

"Really?"

"Dad owns a hobby farm, horses, cows and some sheep. That's a lot of free checks" Hayley grizzled and Andy couldn't help but laugh. Hayley took her back to the walk in robe and waved to all the available space "think there is enough room to bring some of your stuff here?" She asked but never gave Andy time to answer as she dragged her over to some drawers and searched through them, pulling out a old worn Soccer shirt from her high school days.

"Will that be ok to sleep in?" She asked holding it up. Andy nodded, sure it would be fine. Walking back into the main area Hayley headed off into the bathroom first while Andy stripped and pulled on the shirt, breathing in deep when surrounded by the smell of Hayley on the old shirt. It wasn't until she took her jeans off that she remembered her phone beeping and dug it out of the pocket to read it. It was from Gail and with excitement she opened it to read it. She had just finished it when Hayley stepped out of the restroom in her nightwear of boxers and singlet.

In her elated state Andy ran and jumped at Hayley who staggered but caught her under her thighs and tried to focus on the screen Andy shoved in her face. She blinked a few times trying to read

"Holly said yes." Andy cried "Gail sent me a message that we have to pass on to everyone. To save everyone texting them they have agreed to drinks Sunday at the Penny. You know what this means? Shopping trip!" She babbled excitedly before ducking and giving a smacking kiss on Hayley's cheek. Squirming to get down she hurried off to the bathroom.

Hayley was left standing gobsmacked and in a lusty haze in the bedroom. God hated her she was sure, this taking it slow business was killing her. On autopilot she got ready for bed, using the app on her phone to ensure the alarm was on, the lights were off downstairs and everything was as it should be. She had to try and get her body calm for the night.

Hayley looked up when the bathroom door opened as Andy made her way to the bed and slid into the welcoming warmth. Electric blanket. Oh yum, she slid down into it and held up her phone "if I send you the message can you send it to your family while I pass it on to the work crew?"

"Yeah sure" Hayley slid down into the bed more and finally received the message and got to read it. She smirked. Typical Gail, straight and to the point. Generating a new message she sent it on with a note saying it was all they knew and to save any questions for the couple Sunday. She sent it to her mother and aunts and told them to pass it on.

Andy in the mean time sent the message with the pictures of the bathroom and the bedroom to all Gail's friends and colleagues. Maybe it was the romantic in her but she thought it was cute that big bad Gail was so soft and had proposed this way. Placing her phone aside she turned back to Hayley who was waiting patiently.

"Sleep or TV?"

"Sleep" Andy sighed as she snuggled in close, humming quietly when their bodies touched, feeling all her tension drain away. Cuddling with Hayley always had that effect on her.

Hayley too relaxed. For her it was simple. She wasn't whole until she had Andy in her arms. It was like a piece of her was missing until she had Andy in her arms at night. The nights Andy worked or she couldn't make up an excuse to stay she tossed and turned all night. Thankfully those nights were few and far between. They were practically living together, without the sex. This time she wasn't going to force it. She had learnt her lesson. Andy's time or no time.

"Oh i meant to ask before if you'll have Thanksgiving with me. Everyone goes up to the cabin. A combined Stewart/Carter fair. Gail and Holly will be there. My cousins come up from USA. It's a tradition" she tried to act nonchalant but inside she was a mass of nerves.

"If I can get the time off" Andy agreed easily causing Hayley to relax.

"Thought I'd ask, get in before your family does" Hayley smiled. She tried not to act over excited even though her heart was racing and she just wanted to jump for joy. The important thing now was to remain patient.

"I'll check in the morning" Andy sighed "I have to work"

Hayley nodded and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Ok then we better get some sleep then"

"Hmmmm" Andy replied already half asleep and Hayley grinned. Damn woman fell asleep faster than anyone she knew. Which was good for her as her sleep had definitely improved when she was with her. Closing her eyes she pulled Andy closer, feeling the brunette snuggle in and started to relax. Yeah, just like that.

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