"What a thrill it was to be in your arms again, and oh, what a thrill it was to be in those arms again"

Gail and Holly trudged up the stairs to Holly's grandparent's guest room. Evan had gone to the study to make a call to work and Summer had disappeared, again, practically the second they got out of the car. Gail was certain her bag had felt lighter this morning. Maybe that was just because she had made Dov carry it from their apartment out to the car for her. Oh Dov. They brushed their teeth and changed into their pajamas quickly and quietly. Holly climbed into bed and removed her glasses while Gail hovered awkwardly at the foot of the bed. Holly casually crossed her arms on her lap and asked cheekily, "have something you wish to share with the class, officer?"

Gail's head shot up and she bounced the pads of her fingertips off of each other, "do you, like, want me to ah, sleep on the floor, or something?" Gail raised her eyebrows and they peeked over the bridge of her nose.

Holly almost laughed and raised her eyebrows, "do you want to sleep on the floor?"

Gail shrugged nonchalantly, "not really I guess."

Holly smiled, "well I don't really want you to sleep on the floor either."

Gail approached the side of the bed cautiously, "so then I guess I probably shouldn't sleep on the floor." Holly didn't say anything, she just pulled away the covers as Gail rounded the bed. She took her watch off, placing it on the night stand, and before Gail knew it Holly was snuggling into her side. Gail let out an involuntary sigh as she closed her eyes and whispered, "I missed you." She froze for a second when she felt Holly's lips on her's before her body caught up, granting Holly's tongue entrance. It was soft warm and sweet. It felt like home. Gail's skin caught fire as Holly's hand slipped under her shirt. Her hips bucked up, trying to meet Holly's. But then her brain caught up, she rolled them onto their sides and lightly pushed herself away. "Holly, wait," Gail took a deep breath.

"What?" Holly's eyes darted around Gail's face, confused.

Gail put on her best 'cut the crap' face. "Do you-I don't want you to regret anything. We-we haven't really talked yet-"

Holly cut her off, "Gail, please," her eyes were even more pleading than her voice, "I need this. I need something. Help me feel better, please." Gail's heart broke looking into Holly's eyes. She decided she'd do whatever Holly wanted. She'd do anything, anything Holly asked of her. Gail kissed that spot on Holly's neck who responded with a labored moan. Gail pushed the brunette's top up as she kissed her way down a tanned front. "Gail. Gail?" Holly tugged up lightly on blonde hair. Gail looked up from Holly's bellybutton with a soft expression. Holly sighed, "stay? Would you just...stay up here? With me?" Of course she would. She scooted up, hovering over brown eyes before kissing her with all she had. She tried to swallow all of her pain, all of her grief. Gail tried to take it all away; all of it.

Gail awoke with a mouth that felt like sandpaper. Her throat was so dry she could barely swallow. Stupid airplane. She needed water, and she needed gallons of it. She slowly untangled herself from Holly's mess of limbs and slid out of bed. She threw a sweatshirt on over her t-shirt and shorts and tried to slink quietly out of the room. This house wasn't exactly built for slinking. It was big and old and every floorboard gave away your exact location. Perhaps if you lived here you could learn to navigate the quietest path, but Gail was a novice. She finally made it to the kitchen and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and shoved it under the water dispenser on the fridge. The appliances were definitely on the older side but they were clearly top of the line when they were bought. Their soft creme color fit the house too; modern stainless steel would have ruined the room.

"Leave some for the fishes."

Gail was so startled by the voice behind her that she almost choked on the water she was gulping down. She spun around as she was coughing. Gail could barely make her out, but Summer was seated at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and a half empty bottle. All the lights were out and Summer's face and silhouette were only illuminated by the starlight coming in through the large windows. She ignored Gail's coughs as she reached towards the other end of the table and dragged another wine glass towards the bottle. "Don't make me drink alone," Summer poured a glass and thrust it towards the chair across from her. Gail filled her glass again and slowly walked over to the table and gingerly took a seat. Gail was pretty sure, based on Summer's slight lisp and uncharacteristically uncoordinated movements, that she was at least a little drunk. No one should drink alone. Gail had definitely done that before and it sucked. Gail tried to wait it out as her heart rate returned to semi-normal.

"I'll kill you."

Gail's head snapped up and her eyes widened at Summer's deceleration.

"Excuse you?" Gail tried to narrow her eyes and appear more steely.

"If you hurt her again, I'll kill you," Summer put her wine glass down and whipped out her pointer finger and zeroed it in on Gail. "I don't care that you're a cop or that your parents are Mister and Misses Toronto PD. I'm pretty sure I saw every episode of CSI there was by the time I was twelve, thanks to Holly. Plus I'm really jacked and I totally know it. I can bench your body weight and squat two and a half times that. If you hurt her again I will fuck. Your. Shit. Up." Summer took another swig from her glass and then topped it up. Gail knew Summer was exaggerating, but she also knew she wasn't kidding.

"Misses and Mister Toronto PD," she corrected her.

"Huh?" Summer asked as she brought the glass back up to her mouth.

"My mom captains that ship. William's kind of along for the 'Peck' ride in a lot of respects," Gail took a sip of wine, trying her best to appear in control.

"Same difference," Summer shrugged it off.

"So you're just, what? Getting drunk off a hundred and seventy-five dollar bottle of wine, at the kitchen table, in the dark, alone?" Gail raised her eyebrows and scrunched her forehead.

"I'm not alone," Summer quipped matter-of-factly, "you're here."

"Yeah, well, I'm leaving just as soon as my heart stops crashing into my ribs."

"They were real close, you know." Gail just nodded as Summer took another sip. At least she was sipping and not chugging. "Like, uber close. Mom was only out of law school for a year when Hol was born. Dad was just finishing his second year of residency. Once mom went back to work Hol was with Gram all day. And when she started going to school Gram would pick her up and take her home until mom and dad finished work. Not even gonna lie, I'm totes jealous. Gram was a bad ass chick. She was pretty chill too. Mom can get a little nutzo, kinda in your face?" Gail nodded a long, she definitely picked up on that a little bit. Similar to her mom in a way, but Holly's mom's intentions seemed more genuine than the Superintendent's. "But Gram was calmer. Mom's whip smart, but Gram was really wise."

Gail just nodded along. They sat in silence for a few moments before they could hear the hardwood creaking softly and the door to the kitchen swung open.

"Ah, brooding in the dark, are we?" The eldest Doctor Stewart commented as he walked toward the stove and put the kettle on. "I'll make you girls a cup of tea," he shuffled along the counter towards the sink and flipped a light switch and the hanging light above the center island flickered on.

"Actually Gramp Ed, I was just on my way to bed, but Gail was just talking about wanting a glass of tea," Gail gave Summer a swift kick to the shin before Summer rose from the table. She was being trapped here, alone, with their grieving grandfather who she barely knew. Gail had probably spent an entire forty minutes with the man.

"Ah excellent. what's your poison?" He shuffled over to the cabinet on the wall above the sink and threw it open, "we have everything."

Gail gave Summer a death glare as she answered in a cheery voice, "uh, mint would be great."

Summer whispered, "remember what I said," and drew her pointer finger across her neck before waving as she walked across the kitchen towards the doorway. There were still a few sips left in the wine bottle so she held it behind her back as she placed her hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek, "night Gramp Ed. Love you."

He squeezed her hand and said, "love you too bumblebee. I hope you enjoyed my Louis Jadot, it was a 2006," but Summer just grinned big as she walked backwards through the swinging door. "Such a waste. She can't even appreciate it. College kids just drink to get drunk," he grumbled, "mix it in with all that sugar."

"Well, she left a couple sips in her glass, if you want a taste," Gail pointed to Summer's abandoned glass. He chuckled and swatted his wrist in the glass's direction before he reached up for a couple mugs. He busied himself placing the tea bags in the mugs, "she was her favorite you know."

"Sorry?" Gail was a little confused.

"Holly. She was always Beth's favorite. She knows it too, but she'll never admit to it," he removed the kettle from the stove as it started to whistle and poured water into the mugs. Gail smiled; of course Holly would never admit it, she probably won't even let herself see it. "Throw that light on dear," he pointed to the switch on the wall behind Gail. She leaned back in her chair and reached up to the wall. The light above the table flickered on and he made his way over with the two mugs. He was tall. He looked like he might have been taller than Holly's dad at one point. His dark rimmed glasses contrasted his silver white hair, but he still had a lot of it. He was wearing a navy blue pajama set with white trim. Gail thought that it went well with his hair. He placed the mug in front of Gail and she wrapped her hands around it with a smile. "I gave her a couple of boys. She loved those boys," he paused to take a sip from his mug and smiled, momentarily off in a different time. "But Holly was her first little girl. And her first grandbaby, " he added. "Beth only had love to give, and she gave all she could to that little girl. She spoiled her sweet, every day. They were pretty close to inseparable." Gail listened intently, fascinated by a glimpse into young Holly. He took another sip, "her first word was 'Gram.' I'm sure after Anne went back to work Beth spent close to all day, everyday coaching her on that," he chuckled into his mug at the memory. "She didn't talk to Anne or Geoff for weeks when they told her they were moving back to Toronto," Gail smiled knowingly. Holly wasn't an angry person by any standards, but when she was mad, and she thought she had a right to be, she owned it. "Sharing Beth with Evander once he was born had been bad enough," he peered over the top rim of his glasses, "but when she realized she wasn't going to go to Gram's after school anymore," he shook his head. Gail was surprised to hear Holly was a poor sharer as a child. Holly was mostly easy going and gentle; chill. Gail shrugged internally, she was like six after all.

"I think she's taking it pretty hard," Gail took another sip of her tea. She didn't want to overstep but she was also confident that everyone could tell. She wasn't exactly sharing a secret. Plus, he started it.

Ed smiled. Why is he smiling? Gail raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "I'd be worried if she wasn't," his smiled turn sad as he looked down into his mug. "But if anyone taught her how to keep going it was my Beth. I was the cardiologist, but she knew hearts unlike anyone." He was silent for a minute and Gail didn't know what to make of that. She was trying to figure out something to say when he patted her hand and pushed his chair back as he stood up, "I'd better be off to bed. Beth hates it when I stay up too late." He raised a finger as Gail stood up from her chair and said with a smile, "The morning has gold-"

"In it's mouth," Gail finished with him. Holly must have said that a hundred times as she leapt out of bed for her morning run while Gail slammed a pillow over her own head.

He smiled brightly and Gail thought she saw a tear fall from his eyes, "she remembers."

"Yeah, you could definitely say that," Gail chuckled as they walked through the kitchen's swinging door. She flicked the lights out as she left the room behind him. She turned to head up the staircase and he continued on toward the first floor master suite. "Stay out of the hot sun," he called lightly with a wave.

"Goodnight, Ed," Gail whispered as she placed her foot on the first step. Yikes. That was a loud one.

Gail placed her glass of water gingerly on the coaster on the nightstand. She tried to slither into bed without waking Holly but the challenge was too great. Holly was starfished across the entire queen sized bed. "Where d'ya go?" Holly stirred half asleep as Gail nudged her over a little.

"Water," Gail answered as Holly curled back up around her, "want some?" Holly didn't answer though, she was already sound asleep again.

"What a thrill it was to be in your arms again, and oh, what a thrill it was to be in those arms again"
- Josh Ritter "In Your Arms Again"

A/N: I hope all of you who celebrate had a happy Christmas!
Once again I'm writing a little out of order so the next update shouldn't be too long :)

Thanks again for all the views/reviews/follows! I love hearing what you guys are thinking/feeling!