"Stay: how I want to and leave all there behind. Know that no other will know my heart nor mind, my heart nor mind. And still, the darkness comes. You know how I've loved you. Two lives no greater seam. If you ever wonder: yes, you're why I'd sing, you're why I'd sing. And still, the darkness comes."

"Long time no see, sis."

Gail could hear Steve's voice call down the hall but she continued to tap away at her keyboard. Her first hour or so in booking had been relatively mild, and stress free, and she wanted it to stay that way. Steve leaned his upper body onto the divider that surrounded the desk with his back to the cells. He drummed his fingers onto the top of Gail's computer screen. "Do you mind?" She didn't bother looking up at him.

Steve gave the screen one more vigorous tap before removing his hands and placing them onto the cool, painted cement. "You bailed on our dinner on Wednesday."

"Sorry, I-" Gail stopped when she realized Steve hadn't stopped speaking and was entering into one of his monologues. She leaned back into her chair, rested her elbows on the armrests, and laced her fingers together in anticipation of a long speech.

"Now," Steve placed his hand on his chest in dramatic fashion, "obviously at first I was a little hurt; I do love our dinners. Not hurt enough, mind you, to shy away from those delicious dumplings. Yes, Gail, I dined alone," he leaned in closer over the computer screen and raised his eyebrows to accentuate his point, as if he was making a pained confession. "Now, I am a competent, confident adult. I felt no shame," Steve shook his head a little. "However, my disappointment in being robbed of your cheery company turned to slight annoyance when the bill came," Steve looked Gail in the eye. "Do you know why that is, Gail?" She only rolled her eyes and shook her head 'no', knowing full well that Steve wasn't going to pause for an answer anyways. "I remembered that not only were we supposed to have dinner, but it was also your turn to pay," Steve smiled slyly. "My mood took another shift when I got home and you had still yet to respond to my message with even a simple text such as, 'sorry can't make it. It's my day off and I just can't tare myself away from this 'Boy Meets World' marathon," Steve mimed typing on a phone with his hands. "The big brother in me got concerned Gail," his voice turned serious, "I was worried you'd eaten too many cheese puffs and overdosed on 'red 40' and 'yellow 5.' However, when I shared my concern with Traci she informed me that my sister had hopped a flight to Ottawa that morning." Steve put a hand up as Gail opened her mouth to speak. "Not much time passed before my phone was assaulted by calls and emails from our mother. Mind you I think she was trying to text." Gail smiled at that little tidbit. Their mother had just lost her final Blackberry, and the department had just begun switching all the phones over to iPhones. Elaine seemed to be having many mini wars with her new touchscreen companion. "Of course, being the last one to know about your jet setting I was, of course, unable to answer her questions about where you were headed and why. Of course, this didn't prevent her from talking my ear off for a good fifteen minutes.

"How did she know I'd left?" Gail was surprised and slightly creeped out that her mother had found out so quickly that she had gone to Ottawa. The only person she told that day was Dov. She had banged on his bedroom door a few minutes after waking up herself and shouted "you're driving me to the airport in half an hour," before she scurried off to the shower. As far as she knew Dov and her mother weren't buddies.

"Seriously?" Steve was genuinely surprised by Gail's question. "The second you or I show our I.D. at security the paper trail starts and she makes sure it makes it's way to her within a few hours at least."

Gail kicked herself internally, of course her mother knew. "How come she hasn't been hounding me for the past five days?" Gail looked up at Steve with horror written all over her face. This was not a move Gail had seen coming.

Steve shrugged it off, "she probably just doesn't want to show her hand yet. She knows you came in for your shift on Saturday." Gail's mind began racing with possible motivations her mother could have. The fact that she hadn't been calling her non-stop told Gail that something was up. She snapped out of her thoughts when Steve started speaking again, "I on the other hand have not been spared," Steve pulled out his phone and started reading from the screen in dramatic fashion, "Thursday July twenty-fourth, Two Thousand and Fourteen, eight fourteen A.M., one twenty three P.M., six forty-nine P.M. Friday, July twenty-fifth, eight o'eight A.M., one forty P.M., seven fifty P.M. She must have had a long day at work that day," Steve remarked as he scrunched his face and nodded.

"Okay, okay! I get it," Gail conceded.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked in a mockingly sincere voice. He casually held out his phone, "because I could continue. I've got three more days worth of this. Actually," Steve brushed his sleeve away from his watch and glanced down at the face, "it's seven, her evening call should be coming through shortly," he smiled a big, cheesy smile. Gail didn't dignify his question with a response. Steve's voice turned sincere, "look, I'll tell her whatever you want. I haven't said anything, not like I actually know anything to tell her. I'll tell her whatever you want me to." Gail nodded her thanks. She was thankful to have Steve as a brother. "So," he put his head in his hand on top of the divider and smiled knowingly, "how was Ottawa?" He wagged his eyebrows for extra effect.

"Fine," Gail answered shortly and quickly went back to sorting through something unimportant on the computer.

Steve rolled his eyes, "c'mon," he groaned. Fine, if that's how she was going to play it he'd just have to lay it out, "how's Holly?"

Gail kept her eyes trained on her screen, "still nearsighted," she reported cooly.

Steve was almost impressed with how quickly and calmly she had delivered the line. "How's her grandmother?" He asked softly and with genuine concern.

Gail looked up at Steve, "dead." She looked back at her screen quickly while Steve closed his eyes. "The wake's tonight," Gail added flatly.

Steve let out a puff of air, "shit. Sorry. How's Holly doing?"

"You know," Gail continued to type away. She still didn't know exactly where she stood with Holly, which was understandable, but it worried her, so she tried not to think about it while there was nothing she could do.

"Well, no I don't know, Gail. Which is why I asked," Steve chuckled.

Gail stopped moving her fingers across the keyboard and looked up at him, "well her grandmother just died super unexpectedly, and they were like super close. So, not fabulous. And there's not really anything I can do, so..."

"So, what's up with you guys?" Steve still didn't get why Gail was being so short with him when he already told her he wasn't going to blab to their mom; not like he would anyways.

Gail looked back at the computer, "I don't really know."

"What do you mean?" Steve tried to keep his voice neutral. Why does Gail always have to be so difficult.

"Well," Gail kept her eyes on the screen, "I went over to her place, basically to grovel, on Wednesday. Made a complete fool of myself. Spilt my guts everywhere and then she was like 'gotta hop on a plane because my gram, who I calmly and without fuss worship, just had a stroke.' I drove her and her brother to the airport. Then, I followed some uncharacteristically decent advice from Dov, and left her a message while her plane was in the air. When I woke up the next morning I had a mostly incomprehensible message from her, so I flew out there. It wasn't really the time to have the 'I'm really sorry, and I'm a huge fuck up, but will you please take me back' talk. And then, as you know, I had to come back because, as you also know, we're super short staffed. Poor Oliver is probably going to lose what little hair he has left while he's acting Staff Sargent. We've already got three more officers out than we did four days ago, and I'm pretty sure that having to deal with that outdoor music festival this weekend took off, like, five years of his life." She left out the part about them having sex because, well, it was Steve. "So to recap, like I said, I don't really know." Since she landed back in Toronto on Friday night Gail hadn't heard much from Holly. Gail didn't want to push her. Plus, making pointless small talk would have been weird, and Gail was never any good at that to begin with.

Steve looked at Gail sympathetically and she wanted him to stop. "I'll tell her whatever you want, I really will, but I need to tell her something. These thrice daily phone calls are like a cloud that follows me everywhere," Steve raised a finger and smiled when his phone started to ring, as if on cue. His face fell when he looked at the screen and it wasn't their mother. "Sorry, hang on a sec," he told Gail as he swiped across the screen before bringing the phone up to his ear. Gail didn't listen to his conversation, because, well, she didn't care. It wasn't their mom and based on Steve's reaction it wasn't Traci, which meant it was probably work. Gail felt no inclination to eavesdrop. "I gotta go," Steve was talking to her again, "but seriously, just lemme know what you want me to tell mom."

Gail nodded her thanks as Steve turned to leave.

"Oh, and Gail," Steve had turned to face her but was still walking away, now he was just walking backwards, "it'll work out. With Holly." He added a smile as he turned the corner and disappeared.

Gail sighed. She knew Steve was trying to help. He was helping by playing interference with their mom, but he just stirred up everything she was already worried about. She scanned the room. The only guy they had booked that night was being interviewed, so she was the only one in there. There was nothing to do whatsoever. Gail spun around in her chair just so she would have something to do. As she was whirling around she heard her phone vibrate on the desk. Gail planted her hands on the desk on her next pass and dropped her feet to the floor to apply the brakes on her chair. She was a little dizzy but she forced her eyes to focus on the screen of her still buzzing phone. She read the name that was displayed and snatched it up as quickly as she could.

"Holly, hey," Gail tried to sound like she hadn't just been spinning around in her chair as fast as possible.

"Did you mean it?" Holly sounded a little frantic, but like she genuinely wanted to know the answer to her question without being accusatory.

Gail tried to think as fast as possible but she didn't know what Holly was referring to. "Did I mean what?" She heard the garage door open to the sally port. Shit. Someone was being brought in.

"The other night," Holly answered in a hurry, "when you showed up on my doorstep. Did you mean what you said?"

Gail didn't hesitate, "yeah. Yes. Yes, I meant it. Of course I meant it. It's the truth. I meant it all." Gail glanced over at the door, "look, Holly, I'm on the night shift, and I really have to go," Gail stood up and looked towards the door as it opened, "I'm sorry, but I'll call you later okay? Are you okay?"

Holly seemed to come out of a daze, "oh. Yeah, of course," she hurried out an answer, "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. bye," Gail didn't want to hang up be she had no other choice. Nick and a rookie were standing in front of the desk with a guy who definitely smelled. This night just kept getting better.

Holly locked her phone and slid it into her purse.

"Tag, you're it."

Holly turned around to find Summer standing in the doorway to the coat room. "Hey."

"I've discovered that it's easier if you hang out with Adam and Dan. People are briefer and vaguer around them. Most of the old ladies will get distracted by Adam's freckles too."

"Oh yeah?" Holly didn't have it in her to laugh.

"Definitely, they love pinching his cheeks," Summer nodded and crossed the room. "But it's my turn to hide, so scram," Summer pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the door.

"Stay: how I want to and leave all there behind. Know that no other will know my heart nor mind, my heart nor mind. And still, the darkness comes. You know how I've loved you. Two lives no greater seam. If you ever wonder: yes, you're why I'd sing, you're why I'd sing. And still, the darkness comes."
- Aron Wright "And Still, The Darkness Comes"

A/N: I hope all of your new years are off to a great start!

Thank you all so much for all the views, review, favs, and follows. Especially to those of you who are kind enough to leave a review. They make my day! Lemme know what you guys are thinking!

P.S. if you haven't noticed, I totally love Steve's character and if there's not some more Peck sibling time in season 5 I'll probably throw a temper tantrum.